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^SCHYLOS 


(tj^ia/t^u^ao. 


i'mderson.  Pboto  Iiamo. 


!ESCHYLOS 

TRAGEDIES 

AND 

FRAGMENTS 


Translated  by  the  late 

E.   H.  PLUMPTRE   D.D. 

Dean  of  Wells 


WITH    NOTES   AND 
RHYMED   CHORAL   ODES 


IN  TWO   VOLUMES 
VOL.    I 


BOSTON   U.S.A. 
D.   C.   HEATH    &    CO.   PUBLISHERS 
1909 


PUBLISHER'S   NOTE 


The  reception  accorded  to  the  pocket  edition  of  'Dean 
Plumptre's  "  T)ante  "  has  encouraged  the  publishers  to 
issue  in  the  same  format  the  Dean's  masterly  translation 
of  the  Tragedies  of  jEschylos. 

In  preparing  the  present  issue  they  have  followed  the 
carefully  revised  text  of  the  second  edition,  and  have 
included  the  scholarly  and  suggestive  annotations  with 
which  the  Dean  invariably  delighted  to  enrich  his  work 
as  a  translator. 

The  seven  Tlays,  which  are  all  that  remain  of  the 
seventy  or  eighty  with  which  jEschylos  is  c/edited,  are 
presented  in  their  chronological  order.  ^Passages  in  which 
the  reading  or  the  rendering  is  more  or  less  conjectural^ 
and  in  which,  accordingly,  the  aid  of  the  commentator  is 
advisable,  are  marked  by  an  asterisk ;  and  passages 
which  are  regarded  as  spurious  by  editors  of  authority 
have  been  placed  in  brackets. 

In  translating  the  Choral  Odes  the  Dean  used  such 
unrhymed  metres — observing  the  s trophic  and  an tis trophic 
7 


PUBLISHER'S  NOTE 

arrangement — as  seemed  to  him  most  analogous  in  their 
general  rhythmical  e_ffect  to  those  of  the  original.  He 
added  in  an  appendix^  however^  for  the  sake  of  those  who 
preferred  the  rhymed  form  with  which  they  were  familiar y 
a  rhymed  version  of  the  chief  Odes  of  the  Oresteian 
trilogy.  Those  in  the  other  dramas  did  not  appear  to  him 
to  be  of  equal  interest,  or  to  lend  themselves  with  equal 
facility  to  a  like  attempt.  The  (jree{  text  on  which  the 
translation  is  based  is,  for  the  most  part,  that  of  {Mr. 
Pa  ley's  edition  of  1 86 1. 

A  translation  was  also  given  of  the  Fragments  which 
have  survived  the  wreck  of  the  lost  plays,  so  that  the 
work  contains  all  that  has  been  left  to  us  associated 
with  the  name  of  JEschylos. 

In  the  present  edition  a  chronological  outline  has  been 
substituted  for  the  biographical  sketch  of  the  poet,  who 
from  his  daring  enlargement  of  the  scope  of  the  drama, 
the  magnificence  of  his  spectacular  effects  and  the 
splendour  of  his  genius,  was  rightly  honoured  as  "  the 
Father  of  Tragedy.'* 


CONTENTS 


Front hpie re  —  JEsmvLOi  :  From    the    bust   in    the 
Museum  of  the  Capitol,  Rome 


Chronological    Outline    of     the    Life    of 

/sschylos     .         .         .         • 
The  Persians       ..... 
The  Seven  who  Fought  against  Thebes 
Prometheus  Bound      .... 
The  Suppliants  .  .         «         .  . 


Page 

II 

»7 

65 
113 
161 


CHRONOLOGICAL   OUTLINE   OF 
THE   LIFE   OF  ^SCHYLOS 

B.C. 

527  Peisistratos  died. 

525  Birth  at  Eleusis,  in  Attica,  of  iEschylos,  son  ot 
Euphorion. 

510  Expulsion  of  the  Peisistratidae.  Democratic 
constitution  of  Cleisthenes. 

Approximate  date  of  incident  in  the  legend 
that  iEschylos  was  set  to  watch  grapes  as  they 
were  ripening  for  the  vintage,  and  fell  asleep; 
and  lo !  as  he  slept  Dionysos  appeared  to  him 
and  bade  him  give  himself  to  write  tragedies  for 
the  great  festival  of  the  god.  And  when  he 
awoke,  he  found  himself  invested  with  new 
powers  of  thought  and  utterance,  and  the  work 
was  as  easy  to  him  as  if  he  had  been  trained  to 
it  for  many  years  (Pausan,  Att.  i.  21,  §  3).® 

500  Birth  of  Anaxagoras. 

499  iEschylos  exhibited  his  first  tragedy,  in  un- 
successful competition  with  Pratinas  and 
Choerilos. 

•  C/.,  the  legend  of  Caedmon,    "the   Father    of    English 
Song." 

ti 


CHRONOLOGICAL  OUTLINE 

B.& 

The  wooden  scaffolding  broke  beneath  the 
crowd  of  spectators,  and  the  accident  led  the 
Athenians  to  build  their  first  stone  theatre  for 
the  Dionysiac  festivals. 

Partly  out  of  annoyance  at  his  defeat,  it  is 
said,  and  partly  in  a  spirit  of  adventure, 
iEschylos  sailed  for  Sicily. 

497  Death  of  Pythagoras  (?). 

495  Birth  of  Sophocles  at  Colonos. 

491  ^schylos  at  Athens. 

490  The  Battle  of  Marathon.  ^Eschylos  and  his 
brothers,  Kynaegeiros  and  Ameinias,  so  dis- 
tinguished themselves,  that  the  Athenians 
ordered  their  heroic  deeds  to  be  commemorated 
in  a  picture. 

Death  of  Theognis  (?). 

488  Prize  awarded  to  Simonides  for  an  elegy  on 
Marathon,  ^schylos,  piqued,  it  is  said,  at  his 
failure  in  the  competition,  again  departed  to 
Sicily. 

485  Xerxes  succeeded  Dareios. 

484  ^schylos    won,   in    a    dramatic    contest    with 
Pratinas,  Chcerilos,  and  Phrynichos,  the  first  of 
a  series  of  thirteen  successes. 
Birth  of  Herodotos. 

480  Athens  burnt  by  Xerxes. 

iEschylos  fought  at  Artemisium  and  Salamis. 
At  Salamis  his  brother  Ameinias  lost  his  hands 
and  was  awarded  the  prize  of  valour. 

Sophocles  led  the  Chorus  of  Victory. 

Birth  of  Euripides. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  OUTLINE 

B.C. 

479  iEschylos  at  the  Battle  of  Plataea. 

477  Commencement  of  Athenian  supremacy. 

472  iEschylos  carried  off  the  first  prize  with  The 
Persians  (the  first  of  the  extant  plays),  which 
belonged  to  a  tetralogy  that  included  two 
tragedies,  Phineus  and  Glaucos,  and  a  satyric 
drama,  Prometheus  the  Fire- stealer. 

The  Persians  has  the  interest  of  being  a  con- 
temporary record  of  the  great  sea-fight  at 
Salamis  by  an  eye-witness. 

471  iEschylos  appears  to  have  produced  this  year 
his  next  tetralogy,  of  which  The  Seven  against 
Thebes  survives. 

The  play  was  directed  against  the  policy  of 
aiming  at  the  supremacy  of  Athens  by  attacking 
other  Greek  States,  and,  in  brief,  maintained 
the  policy  of  Aristeides  as  against  that  of 
Themistocles. 

Birth  of  Thucydides. 

468  Sophocles  gained  his  first  victory  in  tragedy 
with  his  Triptolemos  ;  iEschylos  defeated. 

iEschylos  charged  with  impiety,  on  the  ground 
that  he  had  profaned  the  Mysteries  by  introducing 
on  the  stage  rites  known  only  to  the  initiated ; 
tried  and  acquitted ;  departure  for  Syracuse. 

467  iEschylos  at  the  court  of  Hieron  at  Syracuse, 
where  he  is  said  to  have  composed  dramas  on 
local  legends,  such  as  The  Women  of  Mtna. 
Death  of  Simonides. 

461  Ostracism  of  Kimon  ;  ascendency  of  Pericles. 
»3 


CHRONOLOGICAL  OUTLINE 


B.C. 


460-59  Probable  date  of  The  Suppliants,  if  the  play 
be  connected  with  the  alliance  between  Argos 
and  Athens  (b.c.  461),  and  the  war  with  the 
Persian  forces  in  Egypt,  upon  which  the 
Athenians  had  entered  as  allies  of  the  Libyan 
Prince  Inaros.     (b.c.  460.) 

The  date  of  Prometheus  Bound  has  been  re- 
ferred to  B.C.  470  on  the  strength  of  a  description 
of  JEina.  (vv.  370-380),  which  is  supposed  to  be  a 
reference  to  the  eruption  of  B.C.  477.  Internal 
evidence,  however,  seems  to  warrant  the  view 
that  The  Suppliants  and  the  Prometheus  Bound 
were  separated  by  only  a  brief  interval  of  time. 

458  iEschylos  in  Athens.  He  found  new  men  and 
new  methods ;  institutions,  held  most  sacred  as 
the  safeguard  of  Athenian  religion,  were  being 
criticised  and  attacked  ;  the  Court  of  Areiopagos 
was  threatened  with  abolition  under  pretence  of 
reform. 

Production  of  the  Oresteian  Trilogy  (or, 
rather,  tetralogy,  as  in  addition  to  the  Agamemnon, 
the  Libation-pourers,  and  the  Eumenides,  there 
was  a  satyric  drama,  Proteus). 

This  trilogy  was  a  conservative  protest,  re- 
ligious, social,  and  political,  which  culminated 
in  the  assertion  of  the  divine  authority  of  the 
Areiopagos. 

Popular  feeling  was  once  more  excited  against 
the  poet,  who  left  Athens  never  to  return,  and 
settled  at  Gela,  in  Sicily,  under  the  patronage  of 
Hieron. 

456  Death  of  ^schylos,  aged  69. 

An  oracle  foretold  that  he  was  to  die  by  a 
14 


CHRONOLOGICAL   OUTLINE 

blow  from  heaven,  and  accc/ding  to  the  legend, 
an  eagle,  mistaking  the  poet's  head  for  a  stone 
as  he  sat  writing,  dropped  a  tortoise  on  it  to 
break  the  shell. 

He  was  buried  atGela,and  his  epitaph,  ascribed 
to  himself,  ran :  "  Beneath  this  stone  lies 
iEschylos,  son  of  Euphorion.  At  fertile  Gela 
he  died.  Marathon  can  tell  of  his  tested  man- 
hood, and  the  Persians  who  there  felt  his 
mettle." 

He  is  said  to  have  produced  between  seventy 
and  eighty  plays,  of  which  only  seven  survive. 


15 


THE  PERSIANS 


DRAMATIS   PERSONiE 

Atossa  Ghost  of  Dareios 

Messenger  Xerxes 

Chorus  of  Persian  Elders 

ARGUMENT.— When  Xerxes  came  to  the  throne  of 
Persia,  remembering  how  his  father  Dareios  had  sought 
to  subdue  the  land  of  the  Hellenes,  and  seeking  to  avenge 
the  defeat  of  Datis  and  Artaphernes  on  the  field  of 
Marathon,  he  gathered  together  a  mighty  host  of  all 
nations  under  his  dominion,  and  led  them  against  Hellas. 
And  at  first  he  prospered  and  prevailed,  crossed  the 
Hellespont,  and  defeated  the  Spartans  at  Thermopyl(s, 
and  took  the  city  of  Athens,  from  which  the  greater  part 
of  its  citizens  had  fled.  But  at  last  he  and  his  armament 
met  with  utter  overthrow  at  Salamis.  Meanwhile  Atossa, 
the  mother  of  Xerxes,  with  her  handmaids  and  the  elders 
of  the  Persians,  waited  anxiously  at  Susa,  where  was  the 
palace  of  the  great  king,  for  tidings  of  her  son. 

Note. — Within  two  years  after  tfie  battle  of  Salamis,  the 
feeling  of  natural  exultation  was  met  by  Phrynichos  in  a 
tragedy  bearing  the  title  of  The  Phoenikians,  and  having  for  its 
subject  the  defeat  of  Xerxes.  As  he  had  come  under  the  dis- 
pleasure of  the  Athenian  demos  for  having  brought  on  the  stage 
the  sufferings  of  their  Ionian  kinsmen  in  his  Capture  of  Miletos, 
he  was  apparently  anxious  to  regain  his  popularity  by  a 
"  sensation  "  drama  of  another  kind  ;  and  his  success  seems  to 

1  X7  B 


THE   PERSIANS 

have  prompted  ^schylos  to  a  like  attempt  five  years  later,  B.r 
473.    The  Tetralogy  to  which  the  play  belonged,  and  which 
gained  the  first  prize  on  its  representation,  included  the  two 
tras^edies  (unconnected  in  subject)  of  Phiieus  and  Glaucos,  and 
the  satyric  drama  of  Prometheus  the  Firestealer. 

The  play  has,  therefore,  the  interest  of  being  strictly  a  con 
temporary  narrative  of  the  battle  of  Salamis  and  lis  immediate 
consequences,  by  one  who  may  himself  have  b^en  present  at  it, 
and  whose  brother  Ameinias  (Herod,  viii.  93)  distinguished  hirr- 
self  in  it  by  a  special  act  of  heroism.  As  such,  makin<j  all 
allowance  for  the  influence  of  dramatic  exigencies,  and  the 
tendency  to  colour  history  so  as  to  meet  the  tastes  of  patriotic 
Athenians,  it  may  claim,  where  it  differs  from  the  story  told  by 
Herodotos  to  be  a  more  trustworthy  record.  And  it  has,  we 
must  remember,  the  interest  of  being  the  only  extant  diama  of 
its  class,  the  only  tragedy  the  subject  of  which  is  not  taken  from 
the  cycle  of  heroic  m3'ths,  but  from  the  national  history  of  the 
time.  Far  below  the  Oresteian  Trilogy  as  it  may  seem  to  us  as 
a  work  of  art,  having  more  the  chvacter  of  a  spectacle  than  a 
poem,  it  was,  we  may  well  be'ieve,  unusually  succf*ssful  at  the 
time,  and  it  is  said  to  have  b  -en  chosen  by  Hiero  for  reproduction 
'n  Syracuse  after  .(Eschylos  had  settled  there  under  his  patron- 
age. 


fi 


THE   PERSIANS 

Scene. — Susa,  in  front  of  tht  falact  o/'Xirxes,  the  tomb 
o/"Dareios  accusing  the  foiition  of  the  thymele 

Enter  Chorus  e/"  Persian  Elders. 

We  the  title  bear  of  Faithful,^ 

Friends  of  Persians  gone  to  Hellas, 

Watchers  left  of  treasure  city ,2 

Gold-abounding,  whom,  as  oldest, 

Xerxes  hath  himself  appointed, 

He,  the  offspring  of  Dareios, 

As  the  warders  of  his  country. 

And  about  our  king's  returning, 

And  our  army's,  gold-abounding, 

Over-much,  and  boding  evil,  *• 

Does  my  mind  within  me  shudder 

(For  our  whole  force,  Asia's  offspring, 

Now  is  gone),  and  for  our  young  chief 

Sorely  frets  :  nor  courier  cometh, 

Nor  any  horseman,  bringing  tidings 

To  the  city  of  the  Persians. 

From  Ecbatana  departing, 

*  "The  Faithful,"  or  "trusty,"  seems  to  have  been  a  special 
title  of  honour  given  to  the  veteran  councillors  of  the  king 
(Xenoph.  Anab.  i.  15),  just  as  that  of  the  "  Immortals "  was 
chosen  for  his  body-guard  (Herod,  vii.  83). 

"  Susa  was  pre-eminently  the  treasury  of  the  Persian  kings 
(Herod,  v.  49;  Strabo,  xv.  p.  731),  their  favourite  residence  in 
spring,  as  Ecbatana  in  Media  was  in  summer  and  Babylon  in 
winter. 

»9 


THE   PERSIANS 

Susa,  or  the  Kissian  fortress,* 
Forth  they  sped  upon  their  journey, 
Some  in  ships,  and  some  on  horses. 
Some  on  foot,  still  onward  marching, 
In  their  close  array  presenting 
Squadrons  duly  armed  for  battle  : 
Then  Armistres,  Artaphernes, 
Megabazes,  and  Astaspes, 
Mighty  leaders  of  the  Persians, 
Kings,  and  of  the  great  King  servants,' 
March,  the  chiefs  of  mighty  army. 
Archers  they  and  mounted  horsemen. 
Dread  to  look  on,  fierce  in  battle, 
Artembares  proud,  on  horseback, 
And  Masistres,  and  Imasos, 
Archer  famed,  and  Pharandakes, 
And  the  charioteer  Sosthanes. 
Neilos  mighty  and  prolific 
Sent  forth  others,  Susikanes, 
Pegastagon,  Egypt's  offspring, 
And  the  chief  of  sacred  Memphis; 
Great  Arsames,  Ariomardos, 
Ruler  of  primeval  Thebae, 
And  the  marshmen,^  and  the  rowers. 


*  Kissia  was  properly  the  name  of  the  district  in  which  Susa 
stood  ;  but  here,  and  in  v.  123,  it  is  treated  as  if  it  belonged  to 
a  separate  city.  Throughout  the  play  there  is,  indeed,  a  lavish 
use  of  Persian  barbaric  names  of  {persons  and  places,  without  a 
very  minute  regard  to  historical  accuracy. 

3  Here,  as  in  Herofiotos  and  Greek  writers  generally,  the 
title,  "the  King,"  or  "  the  great  King."  was  enough.  It  could 
be  understood  only  of  the  Persian.  The  latter  name  had  been 
borne  by  the  kings  of  Assyria  (2  Kings  xviii.  28).  A  little  later 
it  passed  into  the  fuller,  more  boastful  form  of  "  The  King  of 
kings." 

3  The  inhabitants  of  the  Delta  of  the  Nile,  especially  those  of 
20 


THE    PERSIANS 

Dread,  and  in  their  number  countless.  ** 

And  there  follow  crowds  of  Lydians, 

Very  delicate  and  stately,' 

Who  the  people  of  the  mainland 

Rule  throughout — whom  Mitragathes 

And  brave  Arkteus,  kingly  chieftains, 

Led,  from  Sardis,  gold-abounding. 

Riding  on  their  many  chariots. 

Three  or  four  a-breast  their  horses. 

Sight  to  look  upon  all  dreadful. 

And  the  men  of  sacred  Tmolos  * 

Rush  to  place  the  yoke  of  bondage 

On  the  neck  of  conquered  Hellas.  * 

Mardon,  Tharabis,  spear-anvils,^ 

And  the  Mysians,  javelin-darting  ;* 

Babyl6n  too,  gold-abounding. 

Sends  a  mingled  cloud,  swept  onward, 

the  marshy  districts  near  the  Heracleotic  mouth,  were  famed  as 
supplying  the  best  and  bravest  soldiers  of  any  part  of  Egypt. — 
Comp.  Thucyd.  i.  no. 

1  The  epithet  was  applied  probably  by  iEschylos  to  the 
Lydians  properly  so  called,  the  barbaric  race  with  whom  the 
Hellenes  had  little  or  nothing  in  common.  They,  in  dress,  diet, 
mode  of  life,  their  distaste  for  the  contests  of  the  arena,  seemed 
to  the  Greeks  the  very  type  of  effeminacy.  The  Ionian  Greeks, 
however,  were  brought  under  the  same  influence,  and  gradually 
acquired  the  same  character.  The  suppression  of  the  name  of 
the  lonians  in  the  list  of  the  Persian  forces  may  be  noticed  as 
characteristic.  The  Athenian  poet  would  not  bring  before  an 
Athenian  audience  the  shame  of  their  Asiatic  kinsmen. 

2  Tm61os,  sacred  as  being  the  mythical  birth-place  of 
Dionysos. 

*  "  Spear-anvils,"  sc,  meeting  the  spear  of  tlieir  foes  as  the 
anvils  would  meet  it,  turning  its  point,  themselves  steadfast  and 
immovable. 

*  So  Herodotos  (vii.  74)  in  his  account  of  the  army  of  Xerxes 
describes  the  Mysians  as  using  for  their  weapons  those  darts  or 
"  javelins"  made  by  hardening  the  ends  in  the  fire. 

21 


THE    PERSIANS 

Both  the  troops  who  man  the  vessels, 
And  the  skilled  and  trustful  bowmen  ; 
And  the  race  the  sword  that  beareth, 
Follows  from  each  clime  of  Asia, 
At  the  great  King's  dread  commandment. 
These,  the  bloom  of  Persia's  greatness, 
Now  are  gone  forth  to  the  battle  ; 
And  for  these,  their  mother  country, 
Asia,  mourns  with  mighty  yearning  ; 
Wives  and  mothers  faint  with  trembling 
Through  the  hours  that  slowly  linger. 
Counting  each  day  as  it  passes. 

Strophe  I 

The  king's  great  host,  destroying  cities  mighty. 
Hath  to  the  land  beyond  the  sea  passed  over, 
Crossing  the  straits  of  Athamantid  Helle,^ 

On  raft  by  ropes  secured. 
And  thrown  his  path,  compact  of  many  a  vessel, 
As  yoke  upon  the  neck  of  mighty  ocean. 

Antistrophe  I 

Of  populous  Asia  thus  the  mighty  ruler 
'Gainst  all  the  land  his  God-sent  host  directeth 
In  two  divisions,  both  by  land  and  water. 

Trusting  the  chieftains  stern, 
The  men  who  drive  the  host  to  fight,  relentless — 
He,  sprung  from  gold-born  race,  a  hero  god-like.^ 


1  Helle  the  daughter  of  Athamas,  from  whom  the  Hellespont 
took  its  name.  For  the  description  of  the  pontoons  formed  by 
boats,  which  were  moored  together  with  cables  and  finally 
covered  with  faggots,  conip.  Herod,  vii.  36. 

2  ' '  Gold-born,"  sc. ,  descended  from  Perseus,  the  child  of 
Danae. 


THE   PERSIANS 

Strophe  II 
Glancing  with  darkling  look,  and  eyes  as  of  ravening 

dragon, 
With  many  a  hand,  and  many  a  ship,  and  Syrian  chariot 

driving,' 
He  upon  spearmen  renowned  brings  battle  of  conquering 

arrows.^ 

Antistrophe  II 
Yea,  there  is  none  so  tried  as,  withstanding  the  flood 

of  the  mighty,  "* 

To  keep  within  steadfast  bounds  that  wave  of  ocean 

resistless  ; 
Hard  to  fight  is  the  host  of  the  Persians,  the  people 

stout-hearted. 

Mesode 
Yet  ah  !  what  mortal  can  ward  the  craft  of  the  God 

all-deceiving  ? 
*Who,  with  a  nimble  foot,  of  one  leap  is  easily  sovereign? 
For  Ate,   fawning    and    kind,   at   first   a   mortal    be- 
traying, ^** 
Then  in  snares  and  meshes  decoys  him, 
Whence  one  who  is  but  man  in  vain  doth  struggle  to 

'scape  from. 

1  Syrian,  either  in  the  vague  sense  in  which  it  became  almost 
synonymous  with  Assyrian,  or  else  showing  that  Syria,  properly 
so  called,  retained  the  fame  for  chariots  which  it  had  had  at  a 
period  as  early  as  the  time  of  the  Hebrew  Judges  (Judg.  v.  3). 
Herodofos  (vii.  140)  gives  an  Oracle  of  Delphi  in  which  the  same 
epithet  appears. 

2  The  description,  though  put  into  the  mouth  of  Persians,  is 
meant  to  flatter  Hellenic  pride.  The  Persians  and  their  army 
were  for  the  most  part  light-armed  troops  only,  barbarians 
equipped  with  javelins  or  bows.  In  the  sculptures  of  Persepolis, 
as  in  those  of  Nineveh  and  Khorsabad,  this  mode  of  warfare  is 
throughout  the  most  conspicuous.  They,  the  Hellenes,  were 
the  hoplites,  warriors  of  the  spear  and  the  shield,  the  cuirass  and 
the  greaves. 

*3 


THE    PERSIANS 

Strophe  III 
For  Fate  of  old,  by  the  high  Gods'  decree, 
Prevailed,  and  on  the  Persians  laid  this  task. 

Wars  with  the  crash  of  towers. 
And  set  the  surge  of  horsemen  in  array, 
And  the  fierce  sack  that  lays  a  city  low.  "" 

Antistrophe  III 
Bnt  now  they  learnt  to  look  on  ocean  plains,* 
The  wide  sea  hoary  with  the  violent  blast, 

Waxing  o'er  confident 
In  cables  formed  of  many  a  slender  strand. 
And  rare  device  of  transport  for  the  host. 

Strophe  IV 

So  now  my  soul  is  torn, 
As  clad  in  mourning,  in  its  sore  affright. 
Ah  me  !  ah  me  !   for  all  the  Persian  host  !  ^^ 

Lest  soon  our  country  learn 
That  Susa's  mighty  fort  is  void  of  men. 

Antistrophe  IV 

And  through  the  Kissians'  town 
Shall  echo  heavy  thud  of  hands  on  breast. 
Woe  !  woe  !  when  all  the  crowd  of  women  speak 

This  utterance  of  great  grief, 
And  byssine  robes  are  rent  in  agony. 

Strophe  V 
For  all  the  horses  strong, 
And  host  that  march  on  foot, 

^  A  touch  of  Athenian  exultation  in  their  life  as  seamen.  To 
them  the  sea  was  almost  a  home.  They  were  familiar  with  it 
from  childhood.  To  the  Persians  it  was  new  and  untried.  They 
had  a  new  lesson  to  learn,  late  in  the  history  of  the  nation,  late 
in  the  lives  of  individual  soldiers. 
24 


THE   PERSIANS 

Like  swarm  of  bees,  have  gone  with  him  who  led      ™ 

The  vanguard  of  the  host. 
Crossing  the  sea-washed,  bridge-built  promontory 
That  joins  the  shores  of  either  continent.^ 

Antistrophe  V 

And  beds  with  tears  are  wet 

In  grief  for  husbands  gone. 
And  Persian  wives  are  delicate  in  grief, 

Each  yearning  for  her  lord  ; 
And  each  who  sent  her  warrior-spouse  to  battle         **** 
Now  mourns  at  home  in  dreary  solitude. 

But  come,  ye  Persians  now, 
And  sitting  in  this  ancient  hall  of  ours. 
Let  us  take  thought  deep-counselling  and  wise, 

(Sore  need  is  there  of  that,) 
How  fareth  now  the  great  king  Xerxes,  he 

Who  calls  Dareios  sire, 
Bearing  the  name  our  father  bore  of  old  ? 
Is  it  the  archers'  bow  that  wins  the  day  ? 

Or  does  the  strength  prevail  *" 

Of  iron  point  that  heads  the  spear's  strong  shaft  ? 
But  lo  !   in  glory  like  the  face  of  gods, 
The  mother  of  my  king,  my  queen,  appears  : 
Let  us  do  reverent  homage  at  her  feet  ; 

Yea,  it  is  meet  that  all 
Should  speak  to  her  with  words  of  greeting  kind. 

Enter  Atossa  in  a  chariot  of  state 

Chor.  O  sovereign  queen  of  Persian  wives  deep-zoned, 
Mother  of  Xerxes,  reverend  in  thine  age, 

'  The  bridge  of  boats,  with  the  embankment  raised  upon  it,  is 
thought  of  as  a  new  headland  putting  out  from  the  one  shore 
and  reaching  to  the  other. 

as 


THE   PERSIANS 

Wife  of  Dareios  !   hail  ! 
'Twas  thine  to  join  in  wedlock  with  a  spouse 

Whom  Persians  owned  as  God/ 
And  of  a  God  thou  art  the  mother  too, 
Unless  its  ancient  Fortune  fails  our  host.  '** 

Atoss.  Yes,   thus  I   come,  our  gold-decked  palace 
leaving. 
The  bridal  bower  Dareios  with  me  slept  in. 
Care  gnaws  my  heart,  but  now  I  tell  you  plainly 
A  tale,  my  friends,  which  may  not  leave  me  fearless, 
Lest  boastful  wealth  should  stumble  at  the  threshold, 
And  with  his  foot  o'erturn  the  prosperous  fortune 
That  great  Dareios  raised  with  Heaven's  high  blessing. 
And  twofold  care  untold  my  bosom  haunteth  : 
We  may  not  honour  wealth  that  has  no  warriors, 
Nor  on  the  poor  shines  light  to  strength  proportioned  ; 
Wealth  without  stint  we  have,  yet   for  our  e}e  we 
tremble ;  ^"' 

For  as  the  eye  of  home  I  deem  a  master's  presence. 
Wherefore,  ye  Persians,  aid  me  now  in  counsel ; 
Trusty  and  old,  in  you  lies  hope  of  wisdom. 

Chor.  Queen  of  our  land  !   be  sure  thou  need'st  not 
utter 
Or  thing  or  word  twice  o'er,  which  power  may  point  to  ; 
Thou  bid'st  us  counsel  give  who  fain  would  serve  thee. 
Atoss.  Ever  with  many  visions  of  the  night* 


^  Stress  is  laid  by  the  Hellenic  poet,  as  in  the  Agamemnon 
(v.  895),  and  in  v.  707  of  this  play,  on  the  tend^-ncy  of  the  East 
to  give  to  its  kings  the  names  and  the  signs  of  homage  which 
were  due  only  to  the  Gods.  The  Hellenes  might  deify  a  dead 
hero,  but  not  a  living  sovereign.  On  different  grounds  the 
Jews  shrank,  as  in  the  stories  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  Dareios 
(Dan.  iii.  6),  from  all  such  acts. 

2  In  the  Greek,  as  in  the  translation,    there  is  a  change  of 
metre,  intended  apparently  to  represent  the  transition  from  the 
tone  of  eager  excitement  10  the  ordinary  level  of  discourse. 
26 


THE   PERSIANS 

Am  I  encompassed,  since  my  son  went  forth, 

Leading  a  mighty  host,  with  aim  to  sack 

The  land  of  the  lonians.     But  ne'er  yet  '*' 

Have  I  beheld  a  dream  so  manifest 

As  in  the  night  just  past.     And  this  I'll  tell  thee : 

There  stood  by  me  two  women  in  fair  robes ; 

And  this  in  Persian  garments  was  arrayed. 

And  that  in  Dorian  came  before  mine  eyes ; 

In  stature  both  of  tallest,  comeliest  size ; 

And  both  of  faultless  beauty,  sisters  twain 

Of  the  same  stock.^    And  they  twain  had  their  homes. 

One  in  the  Hellenic,  one  in  alien  land. 

And  these  two,  as  I  dreamt  I  saw,  were  set  '*• 

At  variance  with  each  other.     And  my  son 

Learnt  it,  and  checked  and  mollified  their  wrath, 

And  yokes  them  to  his  chariot,  and  his  collar 

He  places  on  their  necks.     And  one  was  proud 

Of  that  equipment,*  and  in  harness  gave 

Her  mouth  obedient ;  but  the  other  kicked, 

And  tears  the  chariot's  trappings  with  her  hands. 

And  rushes  off  uncurbed,  and  breaks  its  yoke 

Asunder.     And  my  son  falls  low,  and  then 

His  father  comes,  Dareios,  pitying  him. 

And  lo  !  when  Xerxes  sees  him,  he  his  clothes  *" 

Rends  round  his  limbs.     These  things  I  say  I  saw 

In  visions  of  the  night  ;  and  when  I  rose. 


*  With  reference  either  to  the  mythos  that  Asia  and  Europa 
were  both  daughters  of  Okeanos,  or  to  the  historical  fact  that 
the  Asiatic  lonians  and  the  Dorians  of  Europe  were  both  of  the 
same  Hellenic  stock.  The  contrast  between  the  long  flowing 
robes  of  the  Asiatic  women,  and  the  short,  scanty  kilt-like  dress 
of  those  of  Sparta  must  be  borne  in  mind  if  we  would  sec  the 
picture  in  its  completeness. 

3  Athenian  pride  is  flattered  with  the  thought  that  they  had 
resisted  while  the  Ionian  Greeks  had  submitted  all  too  willingly 
to  the  yoke  of  the  Barbarian. 

*7 


THE    PERSIANS 

And  dipped  my  hands  in  fountain  flowing  clear,* 

I  at  the  altar  stood  with  hand  that  bore 

Sweet  incense,  wishing  holy  chrism  to  pour 

To  the  averting  Gods  whom  thus  men  worship. 

And  I  beheld  an  eagle  in  full  flight 

To  Phcebos'  altar-hearth  ;  and  then,  my  friends,       *'• 

I  stood,  struck  dumb  with  fear  ;  and  next  I  saw 

A  kite  pursuing,  in  her  winged  course. 

And  with  his  claws  tearing  the  eagle's  head. 

Which  did  nought  else  but  crouch  and  yield  itself. 

Such  terrors  it  has  been  my  lot  to  see. 

And  yours  to  hear :  For  be  ye  sure,  my  son. 

If  he  succeed,  will  wonder-worthy  prove ; 

But  if  he  fail,  still  irresponsible 

He  to  the  people,  and  in  either  case. 

He,  should  he  but  return,  is  sovereign  still.* 

Chor.  We  neither  wish,  O  Lady,  thee  to  frighten 
O'ermuch  with  what  we  say,  nor  yet  encourage : 
But  thou,  the  Gods  adoring  with  entreaties. 
If  thou  hast  seen  aught  ill,  bid  them  avert  it, 
And  that  all  good  things  may  receive  fulfilment 
For  thee,  thy  children,  and  thy  friends  and  country.    *" 
And  next  'tis  meet  libations  due  to  offer 
To  Earth  and  to  the  dead.     And  ask  thy  husband, 
Dareios,  whom  thou  say'st  by  night  thou  sawest. 
With  kindly  mood  from  'neath  the  Earth  to  send  thee 
Good  things  to  light  for  thee  and  for  thine  offspring, 
While  adverse  things  shall  fade  away  in  darkness. 

1  Lustrations  o''  this  kind,  besides  their  general  significance  in 
cleansing  from  defilement,  had  a  special  force  as  charms  to  turn 
aside  dangers  threatened  by  foreboding  dreams.  Comp. 
Aristoph.  Frogs,  v.  1264  ;  Persius,  Sat.  ii.  16. 

2  The  political  bearing  of  the  passage  as  contrasting  this 
characteristic  of  the  despotism  of  Persia  with  the  strict  account 
to  which  all  Athenian  generals  were  subject,  is,  of  course, 
unmistakable. 

z8 


THE   PERSIANS 

Such  things  do  I,  a  self-taught  seer,  advise  thee 
In  kindly  mood,  and  any  way  we  reckon 
That  good  will  come  to  thee  from  out  these  omens. 
Atoss.  Well,  with   kind   heart,  hast   thou,   as   first 
expounder, 
Out  of  my  dreams  brought  out  a  welcome  meaning 
For  me,  and  for  my  sons ;  and  thy  good  wishes, 
May  they  receive  fulfilment !     And  this  also. 
As  thou  dost  bid,  we  to  the  Gods  will  offer  *** 

And  to  our  friends  below,  when  we  go  homeward. 
But  first,  my  friends,  I  wish  to  hear  of  Athens, 
Where  in  the  world  do  men  report  it  standeth?' 
Chor.  Far  to  the  West,  where  sets  our  king  the 

Sun-God.  * 

Atoss.  Was  it  this  city  my  son  wished  to  capture  \ 
Chor.  Aye,    then    would    Hellas    to   our    king    be 

subject. 
Atoss.  And  have  they  any  multitude  of  soldiers  ? 
Chor.  A   mighty  host,    that  wrought    the    Medes 

much  mischief. 
Atoss.  And  what  besides  ?     Have  they  too  wealth 

sufficing  ? 
Chor.  A   fount  of  silver    have    they,   their    land's 
treasure.'  ^° 

Atoss.  Have  they  a  host  in  archers'  skill  excelling  ? 
Chor.  Not  so,  they  wield  the  spear  and  shield  and 
bucklers.' 


1  The  question,  which  seems  to  have  rankled  in  the  minds  of 
the  Athenians,  is  recorded  as  an  historical  fact,  and  put  into  the 
mouth  of  Dareios  by  Hsrodotos  (v.  loi).  He  had  asked  it  on 
hearing  that  Sardis  had  been  attacked  and  burnt  by  them. 

2  The  words  point  to  the  silver  mines  of  Laureion,  which  had 
been  worked  under  Peisistratos,  and  of  which  this  is  the  first 
mention  in  Greek  literature. 

»  Once  more  the  contrast  between  the  Greek  hoplite  and  the 
light-€u-med  archers  of  the  invaders  is  dwelt  upon.      The  next 
*9 


THE   PERSIANS 

Atoss.  What  shepherd  rules  and  lords  it  o'er  their 

people  ? 
Chor.  Of  no  man  are    they  called    the  slaves  or 

subjects. 
Atoss.  How  then  can  they  sustain  a  foe  invading  ? 
Chor.  So  that  they  spoiled  Dareios'  goodly  army. 
Atoss.  Dread  news  is  thine  for  sires  of  those  who  're 

marching. 
Chor.  Nay,  but  I  think  thou  soon  wilt  know  the 

whole  truth  ; 
This  running  one  may  know  is  that  of  Persian  :* 
For  good  or  evil  some  clear  news  he  bringeth.  **" 

Enter  Messenger 

Mess.  O  cities  of  the  whole  wide  land  of  Asia ! 
O  soil  of  Persia,  haven  of  great  wealth  ! 
How  at  one  stroke  is  brought  to  nothingness 
Our  great  prosperity,  and  all  the  flower 
Of  Persia's  strength  is  fallen  !     Woe  is  me ! 
'Tis  ill  to  be  the  first  to  bring  ill  news ; 
Yet  needs  must  I  the  whole  woe  tell,  ye  Persians : 
All  our  barbaric  mighty  host  is  lost.* 

Strophe  I 

Chor.  O  piteous,  piteous  woe  !  ^^ 

O  strange  and  dread  event  ! 

answer  of  the  Chorus  dwells  upon  the  deeper  contrast,  then 
prominent  in  the  minds  of  all  Athenians,  between  their  demo- 
cratic freedom  and  the  despotism  of  Persia.  Comp.  Herod. 
V.  78. 

1  The  system  of  postal  communications  by  means  of  couriers 
which  Dareios  had  organised  had  made  their  speed  in  running 
proverbial  (Herod,  vii.  97). 

2  With  the  characteristic  contempt  of  a  Greek  for  other 
races,  ^Eschylos  makes  the  Persians  speak  of  themselves 
throughout  as  'barbarians,'  '  barbaric' 

30 


THE    PERSIANS 

Weep,  O  ye  Persians,  hearing  this  great  grief! 

Mess.  Yea,  all  things  there  are  ruined  utterly  ; 
And  I  myself  beyond  all  hopes  behold 
The  light  of  day  at  home. 

Antistrophe  I 

Chr.  O'er-long  doth  life  appear 

To  me,  bowed  down  with  years, 
On  hearing  this  unlooked-for  misery. 

Mess.  And  I,  indeed,  being  present  and  not  hearing 
The  tales  of  others,  can  report,  ye  Persians, 
What  ills  were  brought  to  pass. 

Strophe  II 

C/:or.  Alas,  alas  !  in  vain 
The  many-weaponed  and  commingled  host  "" 

Went  from  the  land  of  Asia  to  invade 
The  soil  divine  of  Hellas. 

Mess.  Full  of  the  dead,  slain  foully,  are  the  coasts 
Of  Salamis,  and  all  the  neighbouring  shore. 

Antistrophe  II 

C/>or.  Alas,  alas !  sea-tossed 
The  bodies  of  our  friends,  and  much  disstained  : 
Thou  say'st  that  they  are  drifted  to  and  fro         • 
*In  far  out-floating  garments.^ 

Mess.  E'en  so  ;  our  bows  availed  not,  but  the  host 
Has  perished,  conquered  by  the  clash  of  ships. 

Strophe  III 

dor.  Wail,  raise  a  bitter  cry  *• 

And  full  of  woe,  for  those  who  died  in  fight. 

1  Perhaps —    ' '  On  planks  that  floated  onward," 
or —  "On  land  and  sea  far  spreading." 

3« 


THE    PERSIANS 

How  every  way  the  Gods  have  wrought  out  ill. 
Ah  me  !   ah  me,  our  army  all  destroyed. 

Mess.  O  name  of  Salamis  that  most  I  loathe  ! 
Ah,  how  I  groan,  remembering  Athens  too  ! 

Antistrophe  III 

Chor.  Yea,  to  her  enemies 
Athens  may  well  be  hateful,  and  our  minds 
Remember  how  full  many  a  Persian  wife  ^ 

She,  for  no  cause,  made  widows  and  bereaved. 

Atoss.  Long  time  I  have  been  silent  in  my  woe. 
Crushed  down  with  grief;  for  this  calamity 
Exceeds  all  power  to  tell  the  woe,  or  ask. 
Yet  still  we  mortals  needs  must  bear  the  griefs 
The  Gods  send  on  us.     Clearly  tell  thy  tale. 
Unfolding  the  whole  mischief,  even  though 
Thou  groan'st  at  evils,  who  there  is  not  dead, 
And  which  of  our  chief  captains  we  must  mourn. 
And  who,  being  set  in  office  o'er  the  host, 
Left  by  their  death  their  office  desolate.  '"* 

Mfss.  Xerxes  still  lives  and  sees  the  light  of  day. 

Atoss.  To  my  house,  then,  great  light  thy  words 
have  brought, 

Bright  dawn  of  morning  after  murky  night. 

Mess.  Artembares,  the  lord  of  myriad  horse. 
On  tne  hard  flinty  coasts  of  the  Sileni 
Is  now  being  dashed  ;  and  valiant  Dadakes, 
Captain  of  thousands,  smitten  with  the  spear, 
Leapt  wildly  from  his  ship.     And  Tenagon, 
Best  of  the  true  old  Bactrians,  haunts  the  soil 
Of  Aias'  isle  ;  Lilaios,  Arsames,  ''" 

And  with  them  too  Argestes,  there  defeated. 
Hard  by  the  island  where  the  doves  abound,' 

1  Possibly  Salamis  itself,  as  famed  for  the  doves  which  were 
icared  there  as  sacied  to  Aphrodite,  but  possibly  also  one  of  the 
3* 


THE   PERSIANS 

Beat  here  and  there  upon  the  rocky  shore. 

[And  from  the  springs  of  Neilos,  Egypt's  stream, 

Arkteus,  Adeues,  Pheresseues  too, 

These  with  Pharnuchos  in  one  ship  were  lost  ;] 

Matallos,  Chrysa-born,  the  captain  bold 

Of  myriads,  leader  he  of  swarthy  horse 

Some  thrice  ten  thousand  strong,  has  fallen  low, 

His  red  beard,  hanging  all  its  shaggy  length. 

Deep  dyed  with  blood,  and  purpled  all  his  skin. 

Arabian  Magos,  Bactrian  Artames,  *" 

They  perished,  settlers  in  a  land  full  rough. 

[Amistris  and  Amphistreus,  guiding  well 

The  spear  of  many  a  conflict,  and  the  noble 

Ariomardos,  leaving  bitter  grief 

For  Sardis  ;  and  the  Mysian  Seisames.] 

With  twelve  score  ships  and  ten  came  Tharybis  ; 

Lyrnasan  he  in  birth,  once  fair  in  form. 

He  lies,  poor  wretch,  a  death  inglorious  dying  : 

And,  first  in  valour  proved,  Syennesis, 

Kilikian  satrap,  who,  for  one  man,  gave 

Most  trouble  to  his  foes,  and  nobly  died.  '*' 

Of  leaders  such  as  these  I  mention  make, 

And  out  of  many  evils  tell  but  few. 

A  toss.  Woe,  woe  !   I  hear  the  very  worst  of  ills, 
Shame  to  the  Persians,  cause  of  bitter  wail  ; 
But  tell  me,  going  o'er  the  ground  again,  •* 

How  great  the  number  of  the  Hellenes'  navy. 
That  they  presumed  with  Persia's  armament 
To  wage  their  warfare  in  the  clash  of  ships. 

Mess.  As  far  as  numbers  went,  be  sure  the  ships 
Of  Persia  had  the  better,  for  the  Hellenes  ^ 

Had,  as  their  total,  ships  but  fifteen  score, 

smaller  islands  in  the  Saronic  gulf,  which  the  epithet  would  be 
enough  to  designate  for  an  Athenian  audience.     The  "  coasts  of 
the  Sileni  "  in  v.  305  are  identified  by  scholiasts  with  Salamis. 
1  33  c 


THE   PERSIANS 

And  other  ten  selected  as  reserve.' 
And  Xerxes  (well  I  know  it)  had  a  thousand 
Which  he  commanded — those  that  most  excelled* 
In  speed  were  twice  five  score  and  seven  in  number  ; 
So  stands  the  account.     Deem'st  thou  our  forces  less 
In  that  encounter  ?     Nay,  some  Power  above 
Destroyed  our  host,  and  pressed  the  balance  down 
With  most  unequal  fortune,  and  the  Gods 
Preserve  the  city  of  the  Goddess  Pallas. 

Atoss.  Is  the  Athenians'  city  then  unsacked  ?         ** 
Me^s.  Their  men  are  left,  and  that  is  bulwark  strong.* 
Atoss.  Next  tell  me  how  the  fight  of  ships  began. 
Who  led  the  attack  ?     Were  those  Hellenes  the  first, 
Or  was't  my  son,  exulting  in  his  strength  ? 

Mess.  The  author  of  the  mischief,  O  my  mistress, 
Was  some  foul  fiend  or  Power  on  evil  bent  ; 
For  lo  !  a  Hellene  from  the  Athenian  host* 
Came  to  thy  son,  to  Xerxes,  and  spake  thus. 
That  should  the  shadow  of  the  dark  night  come. 
The  Hellenes  would  not  wait  him,  but  would  leap  '*" 
Into  their  rowers'  benches,  here  and  there, 
And  save  their  lives  in  secret,  hasty  flight. 

•  Perhaps —     "  And  ten  of  these  selected  as  reserve. 

2  As  regards  the  number  of  the  Persian  ships,  looo  of  average, 
and  207  of  special  swiftness,  ^schylos  agrees  with  Herodotos, 
who  gives  the  total  of  1207.  The  latter,  however,  reckons  the 
Greek  ships  not  at  310,  but  378  (vii.  89,  viii.  48). 

3  The  fact  that  Athens  had  actually  been  taken,  and  its  chici 
buildings  plundered  and  laid  waste,  was,  of  course,  not  a  pleas- 
ant one  for  the  poet  to  dwell  on.  It  could  hardly,  however,  be 
entirely  passed  over,  and  this  is  the  one  allusion  to  it.  In  the 
truest  sense  it  was  still  "unsacked  :  "  it  had  not  lost  its  most 
effective  defence,  its  most  precious  treasure. 

*  As  the  story  is  told  by  Herodotos  (vii.  75),  this  was  Sikinnos, 
the  slave  of  Themistocles,  and  the  stratagem  was  the  device  of 
that  commander  to  save  the  Greeks  from  the  disgrace  and  niin 
of  a  sauve  qui  peut  flight  in  all  directions. 

34 


THE   PERSIANS 

And  he  forthwith,  this  hearing,  knowing  not 

The  Hellene's  guile,  nor  yet  the  Gods'  great  wrath. 

Gives  this  command  to  all  his  admirals, 

Soon  as  the  sun  should  cease  to  burn  the  earth 

With  his  bright  rays,  and  darkness  thick  invade 

The  firmament  of  heaven,  to  set  their  ships 

In  three-fold  lines,  to  hinder  all  escape. 

And  guard  the  billowy  straits,  and  others  place  '™ 

In  circuit  round  about  the  isle  of  Aias  : 

For  if  the  Hellenes  'scaped  an  evil  doom, 

And  found  a  way  of  secret,  hasty  flight, 

It  was  ordained  that  all  should  lose  their  heads.' 

Such  things  he  spake  from  soul  o'erwrought  with  pride, 

For  he  knew  not  what  fate  the  Gods  would  send  ; 

And  they,  not  mutinous,  but  prompt  to  serve, 

Then  made  their  supper  ready,  and  each  sailor 

Fastened  his  oar  around  true-fitting  thole  ; 

And  when  the  sunlight  vanished,  and  the  night 

Had  come,  then  each  man,  master  of  an  oar,  ^^ 

Went  to  his  ship,  and  all  men  bearing  arms, 

And  through  the  long  ships  rank  cheered  loud  to  rank  ; 

And  so  they  sail,  as  'twas  appointed  each. 

And  all  night  long  the  captains  of  the  fleet 

Kept  their  men  working,  rowing  to  and  fro  ; 

Night  then  came  on,  and  the  Hellenic  host 

In  no  wise  sought  to  take  to  secret  flight. 

And  when  day,  bright  to  look  on  with  white  steeds, 

O'erspread  the  earth,  then  rose  from  the  Hellenes     ** 

Loud  chant  of  cry  of  battle,  and  forthwith 

Echo  gave  answer  from  each  island  rock  ; 

And  terror  then  on  all  the  Persians  fell, 

Of  fond  hopes  disappointed.     Not  in  flight 

1  The  Greeks  never  beheaded  their  criminals,  and  the  punish 
ment  is  mentioned  as  being  specially  characteristic  of  the  bar- 
baric Panians. 


THE   PERSIANS 

The  Hellenes  then  their  solemn  paeans  sang  : 

But  with  brave  spirit  hasting  on  to  battle. 

With  martial  sound  the  trumpet  fired  those  ranks  ; 

And  straight  with  sweep  of  oars  that  flew  through  foam, 

They  smote  the  loud  waves  at  the  boatswain's  call  ; 

And  swiftly  all  were  manifest  to  sight.  •*** 

Then  first  their  right  wing  moved  in  order  meet  ;' 

Next  the  whole  line  its  forward  course  began, 

And  all  at  once  we  heard  a  mighty  shout, — 

"  O  sons  of  Hellenes,  forward,  free  your  country  ; 

Free  too  your  wives,  your  children,  and  the  shrines 

Built  to  your  fathers'  Gods,  and  holy  tombs 

Your  ancestors  now  rest  in.     Now  the  fight 

Is  for  our  all."     And  on  our  side  indeed 

Arose  in  answer  din  of  Persian  speech, 

And  time  to  wait  was  over  ;  ship  on  ship  *"* 

Dashed  its  bronze-pointed  beak,  and  first  a  barque 

Of  Hellas  did  the  encounter  fierce  begin,* 

And  from  Phoenikian  vessel  crashes  oft" 

Her  carved  prow.     And  each  against  his  neighbour 

Steers  his  own  ship  :  and  first  the  mighty  flood 

Of  Persian  host  held  out.      But  when  the  ships 

Were  crowded  in  the  straits,'  nor  could  they  give 

Help  to  each  other,  they  with  mutual  shocks. 

With  beaks  of  bronze  went  crushing  each  the  other. 

Shivering  their  rowers'  benches.     And  the  ships 

Of  Hellas,  with  manoeuvring  not  unskilful. 


*  The  ^ginetans  and  Megarians,  according  to  the  account 
preserved  by  Diodoros  (xi.  i8),  or  the  Lacedaemonians,  accord- 
ing to  Herodotos  (viii.  65). 

2  This  may  be  meant  to  refer  to  the  achievements  of  Ameinias 
of  Pallene,  who  appears  in  the  traditional  life  of  CEschylos  as 
his  youngest  brother. 

8  Se. ,  in  Herod,  viii.  60,  the  strait  between  Salamis  and  the 
mainland. 

36 


THE   PERSIANS 

Charged  circling  round  them.  And  the  hulls  of  ships  ** 

Floated  capsized,  nor  could  the  sea  be  seen, 

Strown,  as  it  was,  with  wrecks  and  carcases  ; 

And  all  the  shores  and  rocks  were  full  of  corpses. 

And  every  ship  was  wildly  rowed  in  fight, 

All  that  composed  the  Persian  armament. 

And  they,  as  men  spear  tunnies,'  or  a  haul 

Of  other  fishes,  with  the  shafts  of  oars. 

Or  spars  of  wrecks  went  smiting,  cleaving  down  ; 

And  bitter  groans  and  wailings  overspread 

The  wide  sea-waves,  till  eye  of  swarthy  night  **" 

Bade  it  all  cease  :  and  for  the  mass  of  ills, 

Not,  though  my  tale  should  run  for  ten  full  days, 

Could  I  in  full  recount  them.     Be  assured 

That  never  yet  so  great  a  multitude 

Died  in  a  single  day  as  died  in  this. 

Atoss.  Ah,  me  !     Great  then  the  sea  of  ills  that  breaks 
On  Persia  and  the  whole  barbaric  host. 

Mess.  Be  sura  our  evil  fate  is  but  half  o'er  : 
On  this  has  supervened  such  bulk  of  woe. 
As  more  than  twice  to  outweigh  what  I've  told.        "" 

Atoss.  And  yet  what  fortune  could  beworse  than  this? 
Say,  what  is  this  disaster  which  thou  tell'st. 
That  turns  the  scale  to  greater  evils  still  ? 

Mess.  Those  Persians  that  were  in  the  bloom  of  life. 
Bravest  in  heart  and  noblest  in  their  blood, 
And  by  the  king  himself  deemed  worthiest  trust, 
Basely  and  by  most  shameful  death  have  died. 

Atoss.  Ah  !  woe  is  me,  my  friends,  for  our  ill  fate ! 
What  was  the  death  by  which  thou  say'st  they  perished  ? 

^  Tunny-fishing  has  always  been  prominent  in  the  occupations 
on  the  Mediterranean  coasts,  and  the  sailors  who  formed  so 
large  a  part  of  every  Athenian  audience  would  be  familiar  with 
the  process  here  described,  of  striking  or  harpooning  them. 
Aristophanes  (  Wasps,  1087)  coins  (or  uses)  the  word  "  to  tunny  " 
(Svi'i'ofw)  to  express  the  act.  Comp.  Herod,  i.  62. 
37 


THE   PERSIANS 

Mess.  There  is  an  isle  that  lies  off  Salamis,* 
Small,  with  bad  anchorage  for  ships,  where  Pan,        ^'" 
Pan  the  dance-loving,  haunts  the  sea-washed  coast. 
There  Xerxes  sends  these  men,  that  when  their  foes, 
Being  wrecked,  should  to  the  islands  safely  swim. 
They  might  with  ease  destroy  th'  Hellenic  host, 
And  save  their  friends  from  out  the  deep  sea's  paths ; 
But  ill  the  future  guessing  :  for  when  God 
Gave  the  Hellenes  the  glory  of  the  battle, 
In  that  same  hour,  with  arms  wisU  wrought  in  bronze 
Shielding  their  bodies,  from  their  ships  they  leapt. 
And  the  whole  isle  encircled,  so  that  we  *^ 

Were  sore  distressed,*  and  knew  not  where  to  turn  ; 
For  here  men's  hands  hurled  many  a  stone  at  them  ; 
And  there  the  arrows  from  the  archer's  bow 
Smote  and  destroyed  them  ;  and  with  one  great  rush. 
At  last  advancing,  they  upon  them  dash 
And  smite,  and  hew  the  limbs  of  these  poor  wretches, 
Till  they  each  foe  had  utterly  destroyed. 
[And  Xerxes  when  he  saw  how  deep  the  ill,* 
Groaned  out  aloud,  for  he  had  ta'en  his  seat. 
With  clear,  wide  view  of  all  the  army  round, 
On  a  high  cliff  hard  by  the  open  sea  ; 
And  tearing  then  his  robes  with  bitter  cry,  *™ 


1  Sc,  Psyttaleia,  lying  between  Salamis  and  the  mainland. 
Pausanias  (i.  36-82)  describes  it  in  his  time  as  having  no  artistic 
shrine  or  statue,  but  full  everywhere  of  roughly  carved  images  of 
Pan,  to  whom  the  island  was  sacred.  It  lay  just  opposite  the 
entrance  to  the  Peirafos.  The  connexion  of  Pan  with  Salamis 
and  its  adjacent  islands  seems  implied  in  Sophocles,  Aias,  695. 

3  The  manoeuvre  was,  we  learn  from  Herodotos  (viii.  95),  the 
work  of  Aristeides,  the  personal  friend  of  .(Eschylos,  and  the 
statesman  with  whose  policy  he  had  most  sympathy. 

s  The  lines  are  noted  as  probably  a  spurious  addition,  by  a 
weaker  hand,  to  the  text,  as  introducing  surplusage,  as  incon- 
sistent with  Herodotos,  and  as  faulty  in  their  metrical  structure. 

38 


THE    PERSIANS 

And  giving  orders  to  his  troops  on  shore, 

He  sends  them  off  in  foul  retreat.     This  grief 

nris  thine  to  mourn  besides  the  former  ills.] 

Atoss.  O  hateful  Power,  how  thou  of  all  their  hopes 
Hast  robbed  the  Persians !      Bitter  doom  my  son 
Devised  for  glorious  Athens,  nor  did  they, 
The  invading  host  who  fell  at  Marathon, 
Suffice  ;  but  my  son,  counting  it  his  task 
To  exact  requital  for  it,  brought  on  him 
So  great  a  crowd  of  sorrows.     But  I  pray, 
As  to  those  ships  that  have  this  fate  escaped,  *^ 

Where  did'st  thou  leave  them  ?  Can'st  thou  clearly  tell  ? 

Mess.  The  captains  of  the  vessels  that  were  left. 
With  a  fair  wind,  but  not  in  meet  array, 
Took  flight :  and  all  the  remnant  of  the  army 
Fell  in  Boeotia — some  for  stress  of  thirst 
About  the  fountain  clear,  and  some  of  us, 
Panting  for  breath,  cross  to  the  Phokians'  land, 
The  soil  of  Doris,  and  the  Melian  gulf, 
Where  fair  Spercheios  waters  all  the  plains 
With  kindly  flood,  and  then  the  Achaean  fields  *** 

And  city  of  the  Thessali  received  us. 
Famished  for  lack  of  food ;'  and  many  died 
Of  thirst  and  hunger,  for  both  ills  we  bore ; 
And  then  to  the  Magnetian  land  we  came. 
And  that  of  Macedonians,  to  the  stream 
Of  Axios,  and  Bolbe's  reed-grown  marsh, 
And  Mount  Pangaios  and  the  Edonian  land. 
And  on  that  night  God  sent  a  mighty  frost. 
Unwonted  at  that  season,  sealing  up 
The  whole  course  of  the  Strymon's  pure,  clear  flood  ;' 

'  So  Herodotos  (viii.  115)  describes  them  as  driven  by  hun- 
ger to  eat  even  grass  and  leaves. 

2  No  trace  of  this  passage  over  the  frozen  Strymon  appears 
in   Herodotos,    who  leaves   the  reader  to  imagine  that  it  was 

39 


THE   PERSIANS 

And  they  who  erst  had  deemed  the  Gods  as  nought,    **" 

Then  prayed  with  hot  entreaties,  worshipping 

Both  earth  and  heaven.     And  after  that  the  host 

Ceased  from  its  instant  calling  on  the  Gods, 

It  crosses  o'er  the  glassy,  frozen  stream  ; 

And  whosoe'er  set  forth  before  the  rays 

Of  the  bright  God  were  shed  abroad,  was  saved  ; 

For  soon  the  glorious  sun  with  burning  blaze 

Reached  the  mid-stream  and  warmed  it  with  its  flame. 

And  they,  confused,  each  on  the  other  fell. 

Blest  then  was  he  whose  soul  most  speedily 

Breathed  out  its  life.     And  those  who  yet  survived 

And  gained  deliverance,  crossing  with  great  toil         *'" 

And  many  a  pang  through  Thrake,  now  are  come. 

Escaped  from  perils,  no  great  number  they, 

To  this  our  sacred  land,  and  so  it  groans, 

This  city  of  the  Persians,  missing  much 

Our  country's  dear-loved  youth.     Too  true  my  tale, 

And  many  things  I  from  my  speech  omit, 

Ills  which  the  Persians  suffer  at  God's  hand. 

Chor.  O  Power  resistless,  with  what  weight  of  woe 
On  all  the  Persian  race  have  thy  feet  leapt ! 

Atoss.  Ah  !  woe  is  me  for  that  our  army  lost ! 

0  vision  of  the  night  that  cam'st  in  dreams,  '"' 
Too  clearly  did'st  thou  show  me  of  these  ills ! 

But  ye  {to  Chorus)  did  judge  them  far  too  carelessly ; 
Yet  since  your  counsel  pointed  to  that  course, 

1  to  the  Gods  will  first  my  prayer  address. 
And  then  with  gifts  to  Earth  and  to  the  Dead, 
Bringing  the  chrism  from  my  store,  I'll  come. 


crossed,  as  before,  by  a  bridge.  It  is  hardly,  indeed,  consistent 
with  dramatic  probability  that  the  courier  should  have  remained 
to  watch  the  whole  retreat  of  the  defeated  army  ;  and  on  this  and 
other  grounds,  the  latter  part  of  the  speech  has  been  rejected  by 
some  critics  as  a  later  addition. 
40 


THE    PERSIANS 

For  our  past  ills,  1  know,  'tis  all  too  late, 
But  for  the  future,  I  may  hope,  will  dawn 
A  better  fortune !     But  'tis  now  your  part 
In  these  our  present  ills,  in  counsel  faithful 
To  commune  with  the  Faithful ;  and  my  son,  ^'^ 

Should  he  come  here  before  me,  comfort  him. 
And  home  escort  him,  lest  he  add  fresh  ill 
To  all  these  evils  that  we  suffer  now.  [Exit 

Chor.  Zeus  our  king,  who  now  to  nothing 

Bring'st  the  army  of  the  Persians, 

Multitudinous,  much  boasting ; 

And  with  gloomy  woe  hast  shrouded 

Both  Ecbatana  and  Susa  ; 

Many  maidens  now  are  tearing 

With  their  tender  hands  their  mantles,  *** 

And  with  tear-floods  wet  their  bosoms, 

In  the  common  grief  partaking  ; 

And  the  brides  of  Persian  warriors, 

Dainty  even  in  their  wailing, 

Longing  for  their  new-wed  husbands, 

Reft  of  bridal  couch  luxurious. 

With  its  coverlet  so  dainty. 

Losing  joy  of  wanton  youth-time. 

Mourn  in  never-sated  wailings. 

And  I  too  in  fullest  measure 

Raise  again  meet  cry  of  sorrow. 

Weeping  for  the  loved  and  lost  ones. 

Strophe  I 

For  now  the  land  of  Asia  mourneth  sore,  *• 

Left  desolate  of  men, 
'Twas  Xerxes  led  them  forth,  woe  !  woe ! 
'Twas  Xerxes  lost  them  all,  woe  !  woe  ! 
'Twas  Xerxes  who  with  evil  counsels  sped 
Their  course  in  sea-borne  barques. 
4» 


THE    PERSIANS 

Why  was  Dareios  erst  so  free  from  harm, 

First  bowman  of  the  state, 
The  leader  whom  the  men  of  Susa  loved, 

Antistrophe  I 

While  those  who  fought  as  soldiers  or  at  sea, 

These  ships,  dark-hulled,  well-rowed, 
Their  own  ships  bore  them  on,  woe  !  woe  ! 
Their  own  ships  lost  them  all,  woe  !  woe ! 
Their  own  ships,  in  the  crash  of  ruin  urged, 

And  by  Ionian  hands  ?^ 
The  king  himself,  we  hear,  but  hardly  'scapes, 
Through  Thrake's  wide-spread  steppes. 
And  paths  o'er  which  the  tempests  wildly  sweep. 

Strophe  II 

And  they  who  perished  first,  ah  me ! 

Perforce  unburied  left,  alas ! 
Are  scattered  round  Kychreia's  shore,*  woe  !   woe  ! 
Lament,  mourn  sore,  and  raise  a  bitter  cry. 

Grievous,  the  sky  to  pierce,  woe  !  woe ! 
And  let  thy  mourning  voice  uplift  its  strain 

Of  loud  and  full  lament. 

Antistrophe  II 

Torn  by  the  whirling  flood,  ah  me ! 

Their  carcases  are  gnawed,  alas ! 
By  the  dumb  brood  of  stainless  sea,  woe  !  woe  ! 
And  each  house  mourneth  for  its  vanished  lord ; 

And  childless  sires,  woe  !  woe  ! 
Mourning  in  age  o'er  griefs  the  Gods  have  sent, 

Now  hear  their  utter  loss. 

1  The  lonians,  not  of  the  Asiatic  Ionia,  but  of  Attica. 
•  Kychreia,  the  archaic  name  of  Salamis. 
42 


THE    PERSIANS 

Strophk  III 

And  throughout  all  Asia's  borders 

None  now  own  the  sway  of  Persia, 

Nor  bring  any  more  their  tribute. 

Owning  sway  of  sovereign  master. 

Low  upon  the  Earth,  laid  prostrate,  *• 

Is  the  strength  of  our  great  monarch 

Antistrophe  III 

No  more  need  men  keep  in  silence 
Tongues  fast  bound  :  for  now  the  people 
May  with  freedom  speak  at  pleasure ; 
For  the  yoke  of  power  is  broken  ; 
And  blood-stained  in  all  its  meadows 
Holds  the  sea-washed  isle  of  Aias 
What  was  once  the  host  of  Persia. 

Re-enter  Atossa 

Jtoss.  Whoe'er,  my  friends,  is  vexed   in   troublous 
times,  **• 

Knows  that  when  once  a  tide  of  woe  sets  in, 
A  man  is  wont  to  fear  in  everything ; 
But  when  Fate  flows  on  smoothly,  then  to  trust 
That  the  same  Fate  will  ever  send  fair  gales. 
So  now  all  these  disasters  from  the  Gods 
Seem  in  mine  eyes  filled  full  of  fear  and  dread. 
And  in  mine  ears  rings  cry  unpaeanlike, 
So  great  a  dread  of  all  has  seized  my  soul : 
And  therefore  now,  without  or  chariot's  state 
Or  wonted  pomp,  have  I  thus  issued  forth  "" 

From  out  my  palace,  to  my  son's  sire  bringing 
Libations  loving,  gifts  propitiatory, 
Meet  for  the  dead  ;  milk  pure  and  white  from  cow 
Unblemished,  and  bright  honey  that  distils 
43 


THE    PERSIANS 

From  the  flower-working  bee,  and  water  drawn 

From  virgin  fountain,  and  the  draught  unmarred 

From  mother  wild,  bright  child  of  ancient  vine  ; 

And  here  too  of  the  tree  that  evermore 

Keeps  its  fresh  life  in  foliage,  the  pale  olive. 

Is  the  sweet-smelling  fruit,  and  twrn^d  wreaths 

Of  flowers,  the  children  of  all-bearing  earth.^  **" 

But  ye,  my  friends,  o'er  these  libations  poured 

In  honour  of  the  dead,  chant  forth  your  hymns, 

And  call  upon  Dareios  as  a  God  : 

While  I  will  send  unto  the  Gods  below 

These  votive  oiferings  which  the  eartli  shall  drink. 

[Goes  to  the  tomb  o/" Dareios  in  the  centre 
of  the  stage 
Chor.   O  royal  lady,  honoured  of  the  Persians, 

Do  thou  libations  pour 
To  the  dark  chambers  of  the  dead  below ; 

And  we  with  hymns  will  pray 
The  Powers  that  act  as  escorts  of  the  dead 
To  give  us  kindly  help  beneath  the  earth. 
But  oh,  ye  holy  Ones  in  darkness  dwelling,  "*• 

Hermes  and  Earth,  and  thou,  the  Lord  of  Hell, 

Send  from  beneath  a  soul 

Up  to  the  light  of  earth  ; 
For  should  he  know  a  cure  for  these  our  ills, 
He,  he  alone  of  men,  their  end  may  tell. 

Strophe  I 

Doth  he,  the  blest  one  hear. 
The  king,  like  Gods  in  power, 

*  The  ritual  described  is  Hellenic  rather  than  Persian,  and 
takes  its  place  (Soph.  Electr.  836  ;  Eurip.  Iphi^.  Taur.  583 ; 
Homer,  //.  xxiii.  219)  as  showing  wliat  offerings  were  employed 
to  soothe  or  call  up  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  Comp.  Iliny,  Hist. 
Nat.  XXX. 

44 


THE    PERSIANS 

Hear  me,  as  I  send  forth 

My  cries  in  barbarous  speech. 

Yet  very  clear  to  him, — 

Sad,  varied,  broken  cries 

So  as  to  tell  aloud 

Our  troubles  terrible  ?  **• 

Ah,  doth  he  hear  below  ? 

Antistrophe  I 

But  thou,  O  Earth,  and  ye, 
The  other  Lords  of  those 
Beneath  the  grave  that  dwell  ; 
Grant  that  the  godlike  one 
May  come  from  out  your  home. 
The  Persians'  mighty  God, 
In  Susa's  palace  born  ; 
Send  him,  I  pray  you,  up, 
The  like  of  whom  the  soil 
Of  Persia  never  hid. 

Strophe  II 

Dear  was  our  chief,  and  dear  to  us  his  tomb. 

For  dear  the  life  it  hides  ;  "*' 

Aidoneus,  O  Aidoneus,  send  him  forth. 
Thou  who  dost  lead  the  dead  to  Earth  again, 
*Yea,  send  Dareios.  .  .  .  What  a  king  was  he  ! 

Antistrophe  II 

For  never  did  he  in  war's  bloody  woe 

Lose  all  his  warrior-host. 
But  Heaven-taught  Counsellor  the  Persians  called  him, 
And  Heaven-taught  Counsellor  in  truth  he  proved, 
Since  he  still  ruled  his  hosts  of  subjects  well. 
45 


THE   PERSIANS 

Strophe  III 
Monarch,  O  ancient  monarch,  come,  oh,  come, 
Come  to  the  summit  of  sepulchral  mound,  *'» 

Lifting  thy  foot  encased 

In  slipper  saffron-dyed. 

And  giving  to  our  view 

Thy  royal  tiara's  crest  :* 
Speak,  O  Dareios,  faultless  father,  speak, 

Antistrophe  III 
Yea,  come,  that  thou,  O  Lord,  may'st  hear  the  woes. 
Woes  new  and  strange,  our  lord  has  now  endured  ; 

For  on  us  now  has  fallen 

A  dark  and  Stygian  mist. 

Since  all  the  armed  youth 

Has  perished  utterly-; 
Speak,  O  Dareios,  faultless  father,  speak. 

Epode 

O  thou,  whose  death  thy  friends 

Bewail  with  many  tears,  •" 

*Why  thus,  O  Lord  of  lords, 
•In  double  error  of  wild  frenzy  born, 

Have  all  our  triremes  good 

Been  lost  to  this  our  land. 
Ships  that  are  ships  no  more,  yea,  ships  no  more  I 

The    Ghost  o/^  Dareios  appears  on  the  summit  of  the 
mound 

Dar.  O  faithful  of  the  Faithful,  ye  who  were 
Companions  of  my  youth,  ye  Persian  elders, 

'  The  description  obviously  gives  the  state  dress  of  the  Persian 
kings.     They  alone  wore  the  tiara  erect.     Xen.  Kyrop  viii.  3,  13. 
46 


THE   PERSIANS 

What  troubles  is't  my  country  toils  beneath  ? 

The  whole  plain  groans,  cut  up  and  furrowed  o'er,' 

And  I,  beholding  now  my  queen  beloved 

Standing  hard  by  my  sepulchre,  feared  much,  **" 

And  her  libations  graciously  received  ; 

But  ye  wail  loud  near  this  my  sepulchre, 

And  shouting  shrill  with  cries  that  raise  the  dead. 

Ye  call  me  with  your  plaints.     No  easy  task 

Is  it  to  come,  for  this  cause  above  all. 

That  the  great  Gods  who  reign  below  are  apter 

To  seize  men  than  release  :  yet  natheless  I, 

Being  great  in  power  among  them,  now  am  come. 

Be  quick  then,  that  none  blame  me  as  too  late  ;* 

What  new  dire  evils  on  the  Persians  weigh  r 

Chor.  I  fear  to  look  on  thee,  ••• 

Fear  before  thee  to  speak. 
With  all  the  awe  of  thee  1  felt  of  old. 

Dar.  But  since  I  came  by  thy  complaints  persuaded, 
From  below  rising,  spin  no  lengthened  tale  ; 
But  shortly,  clearly  speak,  and  tell  thy  story, 
And  leave  awhile  thine  awe  and  fear  of  me. 

Chor.  I  dread  thy  wish  to  grant, 
*I  dread  to  say  thee  nay,' 
Saying  things  that  it  is  hard  for  friends  to  speak. 

Dar.  Nay,  then,  since  that  old  dread  of  thine  preventi 
thee, 


*  Fither  that  he  has  felt  the  measured  tread  of  the  mourners 
round  his  tomb,  as  they  went  wailing  round  and  round,  or  that 
he  has  heard  the  rush  of  armies,  and  seen  the  plain  tracked  by 
chariot-wheels,  and  comes,  not  knowing  all  these  things,  to  learn 
what  it  means. 

2  The  words  point  to  the  widespread  belief  that  when  the 
souls  of  the  dead  were  p>ermitted  to  return  to  the  earth,  it  was 
with  strict  limitations  as  to  the  time  of  their  leave  of  absence. 

«  Perhaps —     "  I  dread  to  speak  the  truth." 
47 


THE   PERSIANS 

Do  thou  [to  Atossa],  the  ancient  partner  of  my  bed,    '" 
My  noble  queen,  from  these  thy  plaints  and  moanings 
Cease,  and  say  something  clearly.     Human  sorrows 
May  well  on  mortals  fall  ;  for  many  evils, 
Some  on  the  sea,  and  some  on  dry  land  also, 
Happen  to  men  if  life  be  far  prolonged. 

^toss.  O  thou,  who  in  the  fate  of  fair  good  fortune 
Excelled'st  all  men,  who,  while  yet  thou  sawest 
The  sun's  bright  rays,  did'st  lead  a  life  all  blessed, 
Admired,  yea,  worshipped  as  a  God  by  Persians, 
Now,  too,  I  count  thee  blest  in  that  thou  died'st 
Before  thou  saw'st  the  depth  of  these  our  evils. 
For  now,  Dareios,  thou  shalt  hear  a  story 
Full,  yet  in  briefest  moment.     Utter  ruin, 
To  sum  up  all,  is  come  upon  the  Persians.  "° 

Dar.  How  so  ?     Hath  plague  or  discord  seized  my 
country  ? 

Atoss.  Not  so,  but  all  the  host  is  lost  near  Athens. 

Dar.  What  son  of  mine  led  that  host  hither,  tell  me  ?' 

Atoss.  Xerxes  o'er-hasty,  emptying  all  the  mainland. 

Dar.  Made  he  this  mad  attempt  by  land  or  water  ? 

Atoss.  By  both  ;  two  lines  there  were  of  two  great 
armies. 

Dar.  How  did  so  great  a  host  effect  its  passage  ? 

Atoss.  He  bridged  the  straits  of  Helle,  and  found 
transit. 

Dar.  Did  he  prevail  to  close  the  mighty  Bosporos  ? 

Atoss.  So  was  it  ;  yet  some  God,  it  may  be,  helped 
him.  "" 

Dar.  Alas  !    some  great   God   came  and   stole  his 
wisdom. 

Atoss.  Yea,  the  end  shows  what  evil  he  accomplished. 


1  According  to  Herodotos  (vii.  225)  two  brothers  of  Xerxes 
fell  at  Thermopylae. 

48 


THE   PERSIANS 

Dar.  And  how  have  they  fared,  that  ye  thus  bewail 

them  ? 
Atoss.  The  naval  host,  o'ercome,  wrecked  all  the 

land-force 
Dar.  What  !   Is  the  whole  host  by  the  spear  laid 

prostrate  ? 
Atoss.  For  this  doth  Susa's  city  mourn  her  losses. 
Dar.  Alas,  for  that  brave  force  and  mighty  army  ! 
Atoss.  The  Bactrians  all  are  lost,  not  old  men  merely. 
Dar.  Poor  fool  !   how  he  hath  lost  his  host's  fresh 


vigour 


Atoss.  Xerxes,    they    say,    alone,    with     but    few 
others  ....  "° 

Dar.  VVhat  is  his  end,  and  where  ?  Is  there  no  safety  ? 

Atoss.  Was  glad  to  gain  the  bridge  that  joins  two 
mainlands. 

Dar.  And  has  he  reached  this  mainland  ?     Is  that 
certain  ? 

Atoss.  Yea,  the  report  holds  good.  Here  is  no  discord.' 

Dar.  Ah  me  1     Full  swift  the  oracles'  fulfilment ! 
And  on  my  son  hath  Zeus  their  end  directed. 
I  hoped  the  Gods  would  work  them  out  more  slowly  ; 
But  when  man  hastens,  God  too  with  him  worketh. 
And  now  for  all  my  friends  a  fount  of  evils 
Seems  to  be  found.    And  this  my  son,  not  knowing,     ^*" 
In  youth's  rash  mood,  hath  wrought;  for  he  did  purpose 
To  curb  the  sacred  Hellespont  with  fetters. 
As  though  it  were  his  slave,  and  sought  to  alter 
The  stream  of  God,  the  Bosporos,  full-flowing. 
And  his  well-haramercd  chains  around  it  casting. 
Prevailed  to  make  his  mighty  host  a  highway  ; 
And  though  a  mortal,  thought,  with  no  good  counsel. 


1  As  Herodotos  (viii.  117)  tells  the  story,  the  bridge  had  been 
broken  by  the  tempest  before  Xences  reached  it. 

I  49  D 


THE    PERSIANS 

To  master  all  the  Gods,  yea,  e'en  Poseidon. 
Nay,  was  not  my  poor  son  oppressed  with  madness  ? 
And  much  I  fear  lest  all  my  heaped-up  treasure 
Become  the  spoil  and  prey  of  the  first  comer. 

Atoss.  Such  things  the  o'er-hasty  Xerxes  learns  from 
others,  "" 

By  intercourse  with  men  of  evil  counsel  ;* 
Who  say  that  thou  great  wealth  for  thy  son  gained'st 
By  thy  spear's  might,  while  he  with  coward  spirit 
Does  his  spear-work  indoors,  and  nothing  addeth 
Unto  his  father's  glory.     Such  reproaches 
Hearing  full  oft  from  men  of  evil  counsel, 
He  planned  this  expedition  against  Hellas. 

Dar.  Thus  then  a  deed  portentous  hath  been  wrought, 
Ever  to  be  remembered,  such  as  ne'er 
Falling  on  Susa  made  it  desolate, 
Since  Zeus  our  king  ordained  this  dignity, 
That  one  man  should  be  lord  of  Asia's  plains. 
Where  feed  her  thousand  flocks,  and  hold  the  rod     ^*' 
Of  sovran  guidance  :  for  the  Median  first^ 
Ruled  o'er  the  host,  and  then  his  son  in  turn 
Finished  the  work,  for  reason  steered  his  soul  ; 
And  Kyros  came  as  third,  full  richly  blest. 
And  ruled,  and  gained  great  peace  for  all  his  friends  ; 
And  he  won  o'er  the  Lydians  and  the  Phrygians, 


1  Probably  Mardonios  and  Ononiacritos  the  Athenian  sooth- 
sayer are  referred  to,  who,  according  to  Herodotos  (vii.  6,  viii. 
99)  were  the  chief  instigators  of  the  expedition. 

2  Astyages,  the  father-in-law  of  Kyaxares  and  grandfather  of 
Kyros.  In  this  case  ^Eschylos  must  be  supposed  to  accept 
Xenophon's  statement  that  Kyaxares  succeeded  to  Astyages. 
Possibly,  however,  the  Median  may  be  Kyaxares  I.,  the  father 
of  Astyages,  and  so  the  succession  here  would  harmonise  with 
that  of  Herodotos.  The  whole  succession  must  be  looked  on  as 
embodying  the  loose,  floating  notions  of  the  Athenians  as  to  the 
history  of  their  great  enemy,  rather  than  as  the  result  of  inquiry. 

50 


THE    PERSIANS 

And  conquered  all  the  wide  Ionian  land  ;* 

For  such  his  wisdom,  he  provoked  not  God. 

And  Kyros'  son  came  fourth,  and  ruled  the  host ; 

And  Mardos  fifth  held  sway,  his  country's  shame,*     "" 

Shame  to  the  ancient  throne  ;  and  him  with  guile 

Artaphrenes^  the  brave  smote  down,  close  leagued 

With  men,  his  friends,  to  whom  the  woric  was  given. 

[Sixth,  Maraphis  and  seventh  Artaphrenes,] 

And  I  obtained  this  post  that  I  desired, 

And  with  a  mighty  host  great  victories  won. 

Yet  no  such  evil  brought  I  on  the  state  ; 

But  my  son  Xerxes,  young,  thinks  like  a  youth, 

And  all  my  solemn  charge  remembers  not  ; 

For  know  this  well,  my  old  companions  true,  *** 

That  none  of  us  who  swayed  the  realm  of  old, 

Did  e'er  appear  as  working  ills  like  these. 

Chor.  What  then,  O  King  Dareios  ?  To  what  end 
Lead'st  thou  thy  speech  ?  And  how,  in  this  our  plight, 
Could  we,  the  Persian  people,  prosper  best  ? 

Dar.  If  ye  no  more  attack  the  Hellenes'  land, 
E'en  though  the  Median  host  outnumbers  theirs. 
To  them  the  very  land  is  true  ally. 

Chor.  What  meanest  thou  f     How  fights  the  land 
for  them  ? 

Dar.  *It  slays  with  famine  those  vast  multitudes.     "* 

'  Stress  is  laid  on  the  violence  to  which  the  Asiatic  lonians 
had  succumbed,  and  their  resistance  to  which  distinguished 
them  from  the  Lydians  or  Phrygians,  whose  submission  had 
been  voluntary. 

"  Mardos.  Under  this  name  we  recognise  the  Pseudo-Smerdis 
of  Herodotos  (iii.  67),  who,  by  restoring  the  dominion  of  the 
Median  Magi,  the  caste  to  which  he  himself  belonged,  brought 
shame  upon  the  Persians. 

'  Possibly  another  form  of  Intaphemes,  who  appears  in 
Herodotos  (iii.  70)  as  one  of  the  seven  conspirators  against  the 
Magian  Pseudo-Smerdis. 

5« 


THE   PERSIANS 

Chor.  We  then  a  host,  select,  compact,  will  raise. 

Dar.  Nay,  e'en  the  host  which  now  in  Hellas  stays' 
Will  ne'er  return  in  peace  and  safety  home. 

Chr.  How  say'st  thou  ?     Does  not  all  the  barbarous 
host 
Cross  from  Europa  o'er  the  straits  of  Helle  ? 

Dar.   But  few  of  many  ;  if 'tis  meet  for  one 
Who  looks  upon  the  things  already  done 
To  trust  the  oracles  of  Gods  ;  for  they. 
Not  these  or  those,  but  all,  are  brought  to  pass  : 
If  this  be  so,  then,  resting  on  vain  hopes,''  ** 

He  leaves  a  chosen  portion  of  his  host  : 
And  they  abide  where,  watering  all  the  plain, 
Asopos  pours  his  fertilising  stream 
Dear  to  Boeotian  land  ;  and  there  of  ills 
The  topmost  crown  awaits  them,  penalty 
Of  wanton  outrage  and  of  godless  thoughts  ; 
For  they  to  Hellas  coming,  held  not  back 
In  awe  from  plundering  sculptured  forms  of  Gods' 
And  burning  down  their  temples  ;  and  laid  low 
Are  altars,  and  the  shrines  of  Gods  o'erthrown, 
E'en  from  their  base.     They  therefore  having  wrought 
Deeds  evil,  now  are  suffering,  and  will  suffer 
Evil  not  less,  and  not  as  yet  is  seen  *'*" 


1  The  force  of  300,000  men  left  in  Greece  under  Mardonios 
(Herod,  viii.  113),  afterwards  defeated  at  Plataea. 

2  Comp.  the  speech  of  Mardonios  urging  his  plan  on  Xerxes 
(Herod,  viii.  100). 

s  This  was  of  course  a  popular  topic  with  the  Athenians, 
whose  own  temples  had  been  outraged.  But  other  sanctuaiies 
also,  the  temples  at  Delphi  and  Abse,  had  shared  the  same  fate, 
and  these  sins  against  the  Gods  of  Hellas  were  naturally  con- 
nected in  the  thoughts  of  the  Greek.s  with  the  subsequent 
disasters  of  the  Persians.  In  Egypt  these  outrages  had  an 
iconoclastic  character.  In  Athens  they  were  a  retaliation  for 
the  destruction  of  the  temple  at  Sardis  (Herod,  v.  102I 

S2 


THE    PERSIANS 

•E'en  the  bare  groundwork  of  the  ills,  but  still 

They  grow  up  to  completeness.     Such  a  stream 

Of  blood  and  slaughter  soon  shall  'flow  from  them 

By  Dorian  spear  upon  Plataean  ground,' 

And  heaps  of  corpses  shall  to  children's  children, 

Though  speechless,  witness  to  the  eyes  of  men 

That  mortal  man  should  not  wax  overproud  ; 

For  wanton  pride  from  blossom  grows  to  fruit. 

The  full  corn  in  the  ear,  of  utter  woe, 

And  reaps  a  tear-fraught  harvest.     Seeing  then, 

Such  recompense  of  these  things,  cherish  well 

The  memory  of  Athens  and  of  Hellas  ;  '^ 

Let  no  man  in  his  scorn  of  present  fortune. 

And  thirst  for  other,  mar  his  good  estate  ; 

Zeus  is  the  avenger  of  o'er-lofty  thoughts, 

A  terrible  controller.     Therefore  now. 

Since  voice  of  God  bids  him  be  wise  of  heart, 

Admonish  him  with  counsel  true  and  good 

To  cease  his  daring  sacrilegious  pride  ; 

And  thou,  O  Xerxes'  mother,  old  and  dear, 

Go  to  thy  home,  and  talc  ng  what  apparel 

Is  fitting,  go  to  meet  thy  son  ;  for  all  '*' 

The  costly  robes  around  his  limbs  are  torn 

To  rags  and  shreds  in  griefs  wild  agony. 

But  do  thou  gently  soothe  his  soul  with  words  ; 

For  he  to  thee  alone  will  deign  to  hearken  ; 

But  I  must  leave  the  earth  for  darkness  deep  : 

And  ye,  old  men,  farewell,  although  in  woe. 

And  give  your  soul  its  daily  bread  of  joy  ; 

For  to  the  dead  no  profit  bringeth  wealth. 

[  Exit,  disappearing  in  the  earth. 


1  The  reference  to  the  prominent  part  taken  by  the  Pelopon- 
nesian  forces  in  the  battle  of  Platseae  is  probably  due  to  the 
political  sympathies  of  the  dramatist. 
S3 


THE    PERSIANS 

Chor.  I  shudder  as  I  hear  the  many  woes 
Both  past  and  present  that  on  Persians  fall. 

Atoss.   [O  God,  how  many  evils  fall  on  me  !' 
And  yet  this  one  woe  blteth  more  than  all, 
Hearing  my  son's  shame  in  the  rags  of  robes 
That  clothe  his  limbs.     But  I  will  go  and  take 
A  fit  adornment  from  my  house,  and  try 
To  meet  my  son.     We  will  not  in  his  troubles 
Basely  abandon  him  whom  most  we  love.] 

Strophe  I 

Chor.  Ah  me  !  a  glorious  and  a  blessed  life 

Had  we  as  subjects  once, 
When  our  old  king,  Dareios,  ruled  the  land, 
Meeting  all  wants,  dispassionate,  supreme, 

A  monarch  like  a  God. 

Antistrophe  I 

For  first  we  showed  the  world  our  noble  hosts ; 

And  laws  of  tower-like  strength 
Directed  all  things  ;  and  our  backward  march 
After  our  wars  unhurt,  unsufFering  led 

Our  prospering  armies  home. 

Strophe  II 

How  many  towns  he  took, 
Not  crossing  Halys'  stream' 
Nor  issuing  from  his  home, 


1  The  speech   of  Atossa   is   rejected   by   Paley,    on   internal 
grounds,  as  spurious. 

2  Apparently  an  allusion  to  the  oracle  given  to  Crcesos,  that  he, 
if  he  crossed  the  Halys,  should  destroy  a  great  kingdom. 

54 


THE    PERSIANS 

There  where  in  Strymon's  sea, 
The  Acheloian  Isles  ^ 
Lie  near  the  coasts  of  Thrakian  colonies. 

AVTISTROPHB  II 

And  those  that  lie  outside  the  ^gaean  main, 

The  cities  girt  with  towers, 

They  hearkened  to  our  king  ; 

And  those  who  boast  their  site 

By  Hello's  full,  wide  stream, 
Propontis  with  its  bays,  and  mouth  of  Pontes  broad.    "" 

Strophe  III 

And  all  the  isles  that  lie 
Facing  the  headland  jutting  in  the  sea,* 

Close  bound  to  this  our  coast  ; 
Lesbos,  and  Samos  with  its  olive  groves ; 

Chios  and  Paros  too  ; 
Naxos  and  Myconos,  and  Andros  too 

On  Tenos  bordering. 

Antistrophe  III 

And  so  he  ruled  the  isles 
That  lie  midway  between  the  continents, 

Lemnos,  and  Icaros, 
Rhodos  and  Cnidos  and  the  Kyprian  towns,  ** 

*  The  name  originally  given  to  the  Echinades,  a  group  of 
i^ands  at  the  mouth  of  the  Achelobs,  was  applied  generically 
t^^ll  islands  lying  near  the  mouth  of  all  great  rivers,  and  here, 
probably,  includes  Inibros,  Thasos.and  Samothrak*. 

'  The  geography  is  somewhat  obscure,  but  the  words  seem 
to  refer  to  the  portion  of  the  islands  that  are  named  as  opposite 
(in  a  southerly  direction)  to  the  promontory  of  the  Troad. 
55 


THE    PERSIANS 

Paphos  and  Soli  famed, 
And  with  them  Salamis, 
Whose  parent  city  now  our  groans  doth  cause  ;' 

Epode 

And  many  a  wealthy  town  and  populous, 
Of  Hellenes  in  the  Ionian  region  dwelling, 

He  by  his  counsel  ruled  ; 
His  was  the  unconquered  strength  of  warrior  host. 

Allies  of  mingled  race. 

And  now,  beyond  all  doubt, 
In  strife  of  war  defeated  utterly. 

We  find  this  high  estate 

Through  wrath  of  God  o'erturned,  *" 

And  we  are  smitten  low, 

By  bitter  loss  at  sea. 

Enter  Xerxes  in  kingly  apparel,  but  with  his  robes  rent^ 
with  Attendants. 

Xer.  Oh,  miserable  me  ! 

Who  this  dark  hateful  doom 

That  I  expected  least 

Have  met  with  as  my  lot. 

With  what  stern  mood  and  fierce 

Towards  the  Persian  race 

Is  God's  hand  laid  on  us  ! 

What  woe  will  come  on  me  ? 

Gone  is  my  strength  of  limb. 

As  I  these  elders  see. 

Ah,  would  to  Heaven,  O  Zeus, 

That  with  the  men  who  fell  t 


1  Salamis  in  Kypros  had  been  colonised  by  Teukros,  the  son 
of  Aias,  and  had  received  its  name  in  remembrance  of  the  Island 
in  the  Saronic  Gulf. 

S6 


THE    PERSIANS 

Death's  doom  had  covered  me  !  •" 

Chor.  Ah,  woe,  O  King,  woe  !   woe  ! 

For  the  army  brave  in  fight. 

And  our  goodly  Persian  name. 

And  the  fair  array  of  men, 

Whom  God  hath  now  cut  off! 

And  the  land  bewails  its  youth 

Who  for  our  Xerxes  fell. 

For  him  whose  deeds  have  filled 

*Hades  with  Persian  souls  ; 

For  many  heroes  now 

*Are  Hades-travellers, 

Our  country's  chosen  flower, 

Mighty  with  darts  and  bow  ; 

•For  lo  !   the  myriad  mass  "*• 

Of  men  has  perished  quite. 

Woe,  woe  for  our  fair  fame ! 

And  Asia's  land,  O  King, 
Is  terribly,  most  terribly,  o'erthrown. 
Xer.  I  then,  oh  misery  ! 

Have  to  my  curse  been  proved 
Sore  evil  to  my  country  and  my  race. 

Chor.  Yea,  and  on  thy  return 
I  will  lift  up  my  voice  in  wailing  loud. 

Cry  of  sore-troubled  thought. 

As  of  a  mourner  born 

In  Mariandynian  land,*  •*" 

Lament  of  many  tears. 

Antistrophe  I 

Xer.  Yea,  utter  ye  a  wail 

Dreary  and  full  of  grief ; 

I  The  Mariandynoi,  a  Paphlagonian  tribe,  conspicuous  for  their 
orgiastic   worship  of  Adonis,    had   become   proverbial   for  the 
wildness  of  their  plaintive  dirges, 
S7 


THE   PERSIANS 

For  lo  !  the  face  of  Fate 
Against  me  now  is  turned. 
Chor.  Yea,  I  will  raise  a  cry 
Dreary  and  full  of  grief, 
Giving  this  tribute  due 
To  all  the  people's  woes, 
And  all  our  loss  at  sea. 
Troubles  of  this  our  State 
That  mourneth  for  her  sons  ; 
Yea,  I  will  wail  full  sore. 
With  flood  of  bitter  tears. 

Strophe  II 

Xer.  For  Ares,  he  whose  might 
Was  in  our  ships'  array, 
Giving  victory  to  our  foes, 
Has  in  lonians,  yea, 
lonians,  found  his  match, 
And  from  the  dark  sea's  plain. 
And  that  ill-omened  shore, 
Has  a  fell  harvest  reaped. 
Chor.  Yea,  wail,  search  out  the  whole  ; 
Where  are  our  other  friends  ? 
Where  thy  companions  true, 
Such  as  Pharandakes, 
Susas,  Pelagon,  Psammis,  Dotamas, 
Agdabatas,  Susiskanes, 
From  Ecbatana  who  started  f 

Antistrophe  II 

Xer.  I  left  them  low  in  death, 
Falling  from  Tyrian  ship. 
On  Salaminian  shores, 
Beating  now  here,  now  there. 
On  the  hard  rock-girt  coast. 
S8 


THE   PERSIANS 

Chor.  Ah,  where  Pharnuchos  then. 
And  Ariomardos  brave  ? 
And  where  Sevalkes  king, 
Lilaeos  proud  of  race, 
Memphis  and  Tharybis, 
Masistras,  and  Artembares,  "" 

Hystaechmas  ?     This  I  ask. 

Strophe  III 

Xer.  Woe  !  woe  is  me  ! 
They  have  looked  on  at  Athens'  ancient  towers. 

Her  hated  towers,  ah  me  ! 

All,  as  by  one  fell  stroke. 

Unhappy  in  their  fate 

Lie  gasping  on  the  shore. 
Chor.  And  he,  thy  faithful  Eye,>  »~ 

Who  told  the  Persian  host, 

Myriads  on  myriads  o'er,' 

Alpistos,  son  and  heir 

Of  6atan6chos  old 

•  •  •  •  • 

And  the  son  of  brave  Sesames, 

Son  himself  of  Megabates  ? 

Parthos,  and  the  great  (Ebares, 
Did'st  thou  leave  them,  did'st  thou  leave  them  ? 

Ah,  woe  !  ah,  woe  is  me. 

For  those  unhappy  ones  ! 

Thou  to  the  Persians  brave 

Tellest  of  ills  on  ills. 

1  The  name  seems  to  have  been  an   official  title  for  some 
Inspector-General  of  the  Army.    Comp.  Aristoph.  Acham.  v.  92. 

^  As  in  the  account  which  Herodotos  gives  (vii.  60)  of  the  way 
in  which  the  army  of  Xerxes   was   numbered,  sc,   by   enclosing 
10,000  men  in  a  given  space,  and  then  filling  it  again  and  again 
till  the  whole  army  had  passed  through. 
59 


THE   PERSIANS 

Antistrophr  in 
Xer.  Ah,  thou  dost  wake  in  me 

The  memory  of  the  spell  of  yearning  love 
For  comrades  brave  and  true, 
Telling  of  cursed  ills, 
Yea,  cursed,  hateful  doom  ; 
And  lo,  within  my  frame 
My  heart  cries  out,  cries  out. 

Chor.  Yea,  another  too  we  long  for, 
Xanthes,  captain  often  thousand 
Mardian  warriors,  and  Anchares 
Arian  born,  and  great  Arsakes 
And  Diaexis,  lords  of  horsemen, 
Kigdagatas  and  Lythimnas, 
Tolmos,  longing  for  the  battle : 
*Much  I  marvel,  much  I  marvel,^ 
For  they  come  not,  as  the  rear-guard 
Of  thy  tent  on  chariot  mounted.* 

Strophe  IV 

Xer.  Gone  those  rulers  of  the  army. 

Chor.  Gone  are  they  in  death  inglorious. 

Xer.  Ah  woe  !  ah  woe  !     Alas  !  alas  ! 

Chor.  Ah  !  the  Gods  have  sent  upon  U3 
111  we  never  thought  to  look  on. 
Eminent  above  all  others ; 
Ne'er  hath  At^  seen  its  equal. 


1  Another  reading  gives — 

"  They  are  buried,  they  are  buried." 

2  Perhaps  referring  to  the  waggon-chariots  in  which  the  rider 
rechnes  at  ease,  either  piotected  b)  a  canopy,  or,  as  in  the 
Assyrian  sculptures  and  perhaps  in  the  East  generally,  over- 
shadowed by  a  large  umbrella  which  an  eunuch  holds  over 
him. 

60 


THE    PERSIANS 

Antistrophe  IV 
Smitten  we  by  many  sorrows,  *•" 

Such  as  come  on  men  but  seldom. 
Chor.  Smitten  we,  'tis  all  too  certain.  .  .  . 
Xer.  Fresh  woes !  fresh  woes  !  ah  me  ! 
Chor.  Now  with  adverse  turn  of  fortune, 
With  Ionian  seamen  meeting. 
Fails  in  war  the  race  of  Persians. 

Strophe  V 

Xer.  Too  true.     Yea  I  and  that  vast  host  of  mine 

Are  smitten  down. 
Chor.  Too  true — the  Persians'  majesty  and  might 

Have  perished  utterly. 
Xer.  See'st  thou  this  remnant  of  my  armament? 
Chor.  I  see  it,  yea,  I  see.  •""" 

Xer.  {pointing  to  his  quiver.")    Dost    see    thou    that 

which  arrows  wont  to  hold  ?  .  .  . 
Chor.  What  speak'st  thou  of  as  saved  \ 
Xer.  This  treasure-store  for  darts. 
Chor.  Few,  few  of  many  left ! 
Xer.  Thus  we  all  helpers  lack. 
Chor.  Ionian  soldiers  flee  not  from  the  spear. 

Antistrophe  V 

Xer.  Yea,  very  brave  are  they,  and  I  have  seen 

Unlooked-for  woe. 
Chor.  Wilt  tell  of  squadron  of  our  sea-borne  ships 

Defeated  utterly  ? 
Xer.  I  tore  my  robes  at  this  calamity. 
Chor.  Ah  me,  ah  me,  ah  me  *••• 

Xer.  Ay,  more  than  all  *  ah  me's '  ! 
Chor.  Two-fold  and  three-fold  ills ! 
Xer.  Grievous  to  us — but  joy. 

Great  joy,  to  all  our  foes  ! 
6i 


THE    PERSIANS 

Chor.  Lopped  off  is  all  our  strength. 
Xer.  Stripped  bare  of  escort  I ! 
Chor.  Yea,  by  sore  loss  at  sea 
Disastrous  to  thy  friends. 

Strophe  VI 

Xer.  Weep  for  our  sorrow,  weep. 

Yea,  go  ye  to  the  house. 
Chor.  Woe  for  our  griefs,  woe,  woe ! 
Xer.  Cry  out  an  echoing  cry. 

Chor.   Ill  gift  of  ills  on  ills.  »<»• 

Xer.  Weep  on  in  wailing  chant. 
Chor.  Oh!  ah!  Oh!  ah! 
Xer.  Grievous  our  bitter  woes. 
Chor.  Ah  me,  I  mourn  them  sore. 

Antistrophe  VI 

Xer.  Ply,  ply  your  hands  and  groan  ; 

Yea,  for  my  sake  bewail. 
Chor.   I  weep  in  bitter  grief. 
Xer.  Cry  out  an  echoing  cry. 
Chor.  Yea,  we  may  raise  our  voice, 

O  Lord  and  King,  in  wail. 
Xer.   Raise  now  shrill  cry  of  woe. 
Chor.  Ah  me  !  Ah  !   Woe  is  me  !  "w 

Xer.  Yea,  with  it  mingle  dark.  .  .  . 
Cher.  And  bitter,  grievous  blows. 

Strophe  VII 

Xer.  Yea,  beat  thy  breast,  and  cry 

After  the  Mysian  type. 
Chor.  Oh,  misery  !  oh,  misery  ! 
Xer.  Yea,  tear  the  white  hair  off  thy  flowing  beard. 
62 


THE    PERSIANS 

Chor.  Yea;    with  clenched   hands,   with   clenched 
hands,  I  say, 
In  very  piteous  guise. 
Xer.  Cry  out,  cry  out  aloud. 
Chor.  That  also  will  I  do. 

Antistrophe  VII 

Xer.  And  with  thy  fingers  tear 

Thy  bosom's  folded  robe. 
Chor.  Oh,  misery  !  oh,  misery  !  "•" 

Xer.  Yea,  tear  thy  hair  in  wailing  for  our  host. 
Chor.  Yea,  with  clenched  hands,  I  say,  with  clenchM 
hands, 

In  very  piteous  guise. 
Xer.  Be  thine  eyes  wet  with  tears. 
Chor.  Behold  the  tears  stream  down. 

Epode 

Xer.  Raise  a  re-echoing  cry. 

Chor.  Ah  woe  !  ah  woe  ! 

Xer.  Go  to  thy  home  with  wailing  loud  and  long. 

Chor.  O  land  of  Persia,  full  of  lamentations ! 

Xer.  Through  the  town  raise^our  cries. 

Chor.  We  raise  them,  yea,  we  raise.  ^**'' 

Xer.  Wail,  wail,  ye  men  that  walked  so  daintily. 

Chor.  O  land  of  Persia,  full  of  lamentations ! 

Woe  ;  woe ! 
Xer.  Alas  for  those  who  in  the  triremes  perished ! 
Chor.  With  broken  cries  of  woe  will  I  escort  thee. 
\Exeunt  in  procession ^  wailing^  and 
rending  their  robes. 


63 


THE   SEVEN   WHO  FOUGHT 
AGAINST   THEBES 

DRAMATIS   PERSONiE 

Eteocles         Ismene 
Scout  Antigone 

Herald        Chorus  of  Theban  Maidens 

ARGUMENT.— When  (Edipns  king  of  Thebes  dis- 
covered that  he  had  unknowingly  been  the  muyderer  of 
his  father,  and  had  lived  in  incest  with  his  mother,  he 
blinded  himself.  And  his  two  sons,  Eteocles  and 
Polyneikes,  wishing  to  banish  the  remembrance  of  these 
horrors  from  the  eyes  of  men,  at  first  kept  him  in  confine- 
ment. And  he,  being  wroth  with  them,  prayed  that  they 
might  divide  their  inheritance  with  the  sword.  And  they, 
in  fear  lest  the  prayer  should  be  accomplished,  agreed  to 
reign  in  turn,  each  for  a  year,  and  Eteocles,  as  the  elder 
of  the  two,  took  the  first  turn.  But  when  at  the  end  of 
the  year  Polyneikes  came  to  ask  for  the  kingdom,  Eteocles 
refused  to  give  way,  and  sent  him  away  empty.  So 
Polyneikes  went  to  Argos  and  married  the  daughter  of 
Adrastos  the  king  of  that  country,  and  gathered  together 
a  great  army  under  six  great  captains,  himself  going  as 
the  seventh,  and  led  it  against  Thebes.  And  so  they 
compassed  it  about,  and  at  each  of  the  seven  gates  of  the 
city  was  stationed  one  of  the  divisions  of  the  army. 

Note.  —  TAe  Seven  against  TAedesa.ppea.TS  to  have  been  pro- 
duced B.C.  47a,  the  year  after  The  Persians, 

6s  , 


THE  SEVEN   AGAINST   THEBES 

SciNE. — Thebei  Ih  fimt  of  the  Acrepolit 

Enter  Eteocles,  and  crowd  of  Theban  Citizens. 

Eteoc.  Yc  citizens  of  Cadmos,  it  behoves 
That  one  who  standeth  at  the  stern  of  State 
Guiding  the  helm,  with  eyes  unclosed  in  sleep, 
Should  speak  the  things  that  meet  occasion's  need. 
For  should  we  prosper,  God  gets  all  the  praise : 
But  if  (which  God  forbid !)  disaster  falls, 
Eteocles,  much  blame  on  one  head  falling, 
Would  find  his  name  the  by-word  of  the  State,' 
Sung  in  the  slanderous  ballads  of  the  town  ; 
Yes,  and  with  groanings,  which  may  Zeus  the  Averter, 
True  to  his  name,  from  us  Cadmeians  turn ! 
But  now  'tis  meet  for  all,  both  him  who  fails  "* 

Of  full-grown  age,  and  him  advanced  in  years. 
Ye.  boasting  still  a  stalwart  strength  of  frame. 
And  each  in  life's  full  prime,  as  it  is  fit. 
The  State  to  succour  and  the  altars  here 
Of  these  our  country's  Gods,  that  never  more 
Their  votive  honours  cease, — to  help  our  sons, 
And  Earth,  our  dearest  mother  and  kind  nurse ; 
For  she,  when  young  ye  crept  her  kindly  plain. 
Bearing  the  whole  charge  of  your  nourishment, 

1  Probably  directed  against  the  tendency  of  the  Athenians,  as 
shown  in  their  treatment  of  Miltiades,  and  later  in  that  of 
Tbukydiies,  to  punish  their  unsuccessful  generals,  "  tourencou- 
rager  Us  autres." 

67 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Reared  you  as  denizens  that  bear  the  shield. 

That  ye  should  trusty  prove  in  this  her  need.  " 

And  now  thus  far  God  turns  the  scale  for  us ; 

For  unto  us,  beleaguered  these  long  days, 

War  doth  in  most  things  with  God's  help  speed  well, 

But  now,  as  saith  the  seer,  the  augur  skilled,^ 

Watching  with  ear  and  mind,  apart  from  fire. 

The  birds  oracular  with  mind  unerring, 

He,  lord  and  master  of  these  prophet-arts, 

Says  that  the  great  attack  of  the  Achaeans 

This  very  night  is  talked  of,  and  their  plots 

Devised  against  the  town.     But  ye,  haste  all 

Unto  the  walls  and  gateways  of  the  forts ;  ** 

Rush  ye  full-armed,  and  fill  the  outer  space. 

And  stand  upon  the  platforms  of  the  towers, 

And  at  the  entrance  of  the  gates  abiding 

Be  of  good  cheer,  nor  fear  ye  overmuch 

The  host  of  aliens.     Well  will  God  work  all. 

And  I  have  sent  my  scouts  and  watchers  forth, 

And  trust  their  errand  is  no  fruitless  one. 

I  shall  not,  hearing  them,  be  caught  with  guile. 

[Exeunt  Citizens. 

Enter  one  of  the  Scouts. 

Mess.  King  of  Cadmeians,  great  Eteocles, 
I  from  the  army  come  with  tidings  clear,  *" 

And  am  myself  eye-witness  of  its  acts ; 
For  seven  brave  warriors,  leading  armid  bands, 
Cutting  a  bull's  throat  o'er  a  black-rimmed  shield, 
And  dipping  in  the  bull's  blood  with  their  hands, 
Swore  before  Ares,  Enyo,*  murderous  Fear, 

1  Teiresias,  as  in  Sophocles  {^Antig.  v.  1005),  sitting,  though 
blind  ,and  listening,  as  the  birds  flit  by  him,  and  the  flames  burn 
steadily  or  fitfully  ;  a  various  reading  gives  "apart  from  sight." 

»  Enyo,  the  goddess  of  war,  and  companion  of  Ares. 
68 


THE   SEVEN  AGAINST  THEBES 

That  they  would  bring  destruction  on  our  town. 
And  trample  under  foot  the  tower  of  Cadmos, 
Or  dying,  with  their  own  blood  stain  our  soil ; 
And  they  memorials  for  their  sires  at  home 
Placed  with  their  hands  upon  Adrastos'  car,^  " 

Weeping,  but  no  wail  uttering  with  their  lips, 
For  courage  iron-hearted  breathed  out  fire 
In  manliness  unconquered,  as  when  lions 
Flash  battle  from  their  eyeballs.     And  report 
Of  these  things  does  not  linger  on  the  way. 
I  left  them  casting  lots,  that  each  might  take. 
As  the  'ot  fell,  his  station  at  the  gate. 
Wherefore  do  thou  our  city's  chosen  ones 
Array  with  speed  at  entrance  of  the  gates ; 
For  near  already  is  the  Argive  host, 
Marching    through    clouds   of  dust,    and    whitening 
foam  "" 

Spots  all  the  plain  with  drops  from  horses'  mouths. 
And  thou,  as  prudent  helmsman  of  the  ship, 
Guard  thou  our  fortress  ere  the  blasts  of  Ares 
Swoop  on  it  wildly ;  for  there  comes  the  roar 
Of  the  land-wave  of  armies.     And  do  thou 
Seize  for  these  things  the  swiftest  tide  and  time ; 
And  I,  in  all  that  comes,  will  keep  my  eye 
As  faithful  sentry ;  so  through  speech  full  clear. 
Thou,  knowing  all  things  yonder,  shalt  be  safe. 

[Exit. 
Eteoc.  O  Zeus  and  Earth,  and  all  ye  guardian  Gods ! 
Thou  Curse  and  strong  Erinnys  of  my  sire  !  " 

Destroy  ye  not  my  city  root  and  branch, 


1  Aniphiaraos  the  seer  had  prophesied  that  Adrastos  alone 
should  return  home  in  safety.  On  his  car,  therefore,  the  other 
chieftains  hung  the  clasps,  or  locks  of  hair,  or  other  memorials 
which  in  the  event  of  their  death  were  to  be  taken  to 
their  parents. 

69 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

With  sore  destruction  smitten,  one  whose  voice 

Is  that  of  Hellas,  nor  our  hearths  and  homes ; ' 

Grant  that  they  never  hold  in  yoke  of  bondage 

Our  country  free,  and  town  of  Cadmos  named ; 

But  be  ye  our  defence.     I  deem  I  speak 

Of  what  concerns  us  both  ;  for  still  'tis  true, 

A  prosperous  city  honours  well  the  Gods.  [Exit 

Enter  Chorus  «/"  Theban  Maidens  in  solemn  processicn 
as  suppliants 

Chor.  I  in  wild  terror  utter  cries  of  woe ; 
An  army  leaves  its  camp  and  is  let  loose : 
Hither  the  vanguard  of  the  horsemen  flows,  ** 

And  the  thick  cloud  of  dust, 

That  suddenly  is  seen. 

Dumb  herald,  yet  full  clear. 

Constrains  me  to  believe  ; 
And  smitten  with  the  horses'  hoofe,  the  plain 
Of  this  my  country  rings  with  noise  of  war ; 

It  floats  and  echoes  round, 
Like  voice  of  mountain  torrent  dashing  down 

Resistless  in  its  might. 

Ah  Gods  !  Ah  Goddesses  ! 

Ward  off  the  coming  woe. 
With  battle-shout  that  rises  o'er  the  walls. 

The  host  whose  shields  are  white  *  •*• 


1  The  Hellenic  feeling,  such  as  the  Plataeans  appealed  to  in 
the  Peloponnesian  war  (Thuc.  iii.  58,  59),  that  it  was  noble  and 
right  for  Hellenes  to  destroy  a  city  of  the  barbarians,  but  that 
they  should  spare  one  belonging  to  a  people  of  their  own  stock. 

2  The  characteristic  feature  of  the  Argive  soldiers  was,  that 
they  bore  a  shield  painted  white  (comp.  Sophocles,  Antig.  v. 
114).  The  leaders  alone  appear  to  hav<i  embellished  this  witlj 
devices  and  mottoes. 

79 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Marches  in  full  array  against  our  city. 

Who  then,  of  all  the  Gods 
Or  Goddesses,  will  come  to  help  and  save  ? 
Say,  shall  I  fall  before  the  shrines  of  Gods  i 

O  blessed  Ones  firm  fixed  ! 
*Tis  time  to  clasp  your  sacred  images. 
Why  linger  we  in  wailing  overmuch  ? 
Hear  ye,  or  hear  ye  not,  the  din  of  shields  ? 

When,  if  not  now,  shall  we 
Engage  in  prayer  with  peplos  and  with  boughs?' 
I  hear  a  mighty  sound  ;  it  is  the  din  '" 

Not  of  a  single  spear. 
O  Ares !  ancient  guardian  of  our  land  ! 
What  wilt  thou  do  ?     Wilt  thou  betray  thy  land  ? 

O  God  of  golden  casque, 
Look  on  our  city,  yea,  with  favour  look, 

The  city  thou  did'st  love. 
And  ye,  ye  Gods  who  o'er  the  city  rule, 

Come  all  of  you,  come  all. 
Behold  the  band  of  maidens  suppliant, 

In  fear  of  bondage  foul ; 

For  now  around  the  town 
The  wave  of  warriors  bearing  slopM  crests. 
With  blasts  of  Ares  rushing,  hoarsely  sounds :  "° 

Hut  thou,  O  Zeus !  true  father  of  us  all, 
Ward  off,  ward  off  our  capture  by  the  foe. 

Strophe  I 

For  Argives  now  surround  the  town  of  Cadmos, 
And  dread  of  Ares'  weapons  falls  on  us ; 
And,  bound  to  horses'  mouths, 

>  In  solemn  supplications,  the  litanies  of  the  ancient  world, 
especially  in  those  to  Pallas,  the  suppliants  carried  with  them  in 
procession   the   shawl   or  peplos  of  the   Goddess,  and  with  it 

7» 


THE   SEVEN  AGAINST  THEBES 

The  bits  and  curbs  ring  music  as  of  death ; 
And  seven  chief  rulers  of  the  mighty  host, 
With  warriors'  arms,  at  each  of  seven  tall  gates, 

Spear-armed  and  harnessed  all. 

Stand,  having  cast  their  lots. 


Mesodb 

And  thou,  O  Zeus-born  power  in  war  delighting,  "* 
O  Pallas !  be  our  city's  saviour  now  ; 

And  Thou  who  curb'st  the  steed, 

Great  King  of  Ocean's  waves, 
Poseidon,  with  thy  trident  fish-spear  armed,^ 
Give  respite  from  our  troubles,  respite  give  ! 
And  Thou,  O  Ares,  guard  the  town  that  takes 

Its  name  from  Cadmos  old,** 

Watch  o'er  it  visibly. 

Antistrophe  1 

And  thou,  O  Kypris,  of  our  race  the  mother. 
Ward  off  these  ills,  for  we  are  thine  by  blood : 

To  thee  in  many  a  prayer,  *** 

With  voice  that  calls  upon  the  Gods  we  cry. 
And  unto  thee  draw  near  as  suppliants : 

enwrapt  her  statue.  To  carry  boughs  of  trees  in  the  hands  was 
one  of  the  uniform,  probably  indispensable,  accompaniments  of 
such  processions. 

1  The  words  recall  our  thoughts  to  the  original  use  of  the  tri- 
dent, which  became  afterwards  a  symbol  of  Poseidon,  as 
employed  by  the  sailors  of  Hellas  to  spear  or  harpoon  the 
larger  fish  of  the  Archipelago.  Comp.  Pers  v.  426,  where  the 
slaughter  of  a  defeated  army  is  compared  to  tunny-fishing. 

2  Cadmos,  probably  "the  man  from  the  East,"  the  Phoenikian 
who  had  founded  Thebes,  and  sown  the  dragon's  seed,  and 
taught  men  a  Semitic  alphabet  for  the  non-Semitic  speech  o) 
Hellas. 

7» 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

And  Thou,  Lykeian  king,  Lykeian  be,' 

Foe  of  our  hated  foes, 

For  this  our  wailing  cry  ; 
And  Thou,  O  child  of  Leto,  Artemis, 

Make  ready  now  thy  bow. 

Strophe  II 

Ah  !  ah  !   I  hear  a  din  of  chariot  wheels 

Around  the  city  walls ; 

O  Hera  great  and  dread  ! 
The  heavy  axles  of  the  chariots  groan,  ** 

O  Artemis  beloved ! 
And  the  air  maddens  with  the  clash  of  spears ; 

What  must  our  city  bear  ? 

What  now  shall  come  on  us  ? 

When  will  God  give  the  end  ? 

Antistrophe  II 

Ah  !  ah  !  a  voice  of  stones  is  falling  fast 

On  battlements  attacked ;' 

O  Lord,  Apollo  loved, 
A  din  of  bronze-bour>d  shields  is  in  the  gates ; 

And  oh  !  that  Zeus  may  give  "• 

A  faultless  issue  of  this  war  we  wage ! 

And  Thou,  O  blessed  queen, 

As  Guardian  Onca  known,' 

Save  thy  seven-gated  seat. 

1  Worthy  of  his  name  as  the  Wolf-destroyer,  mighty  to  des- 
troy his  foes. 

2  Possibly  "from  battlements  attacked."  In  the  primitive 
sieges  of  Greek  warfare  stones  were  used  as  missiles  alike  by 
besieged  and  besiegers 

s  I'he  name  of  Onca  belonged  especially  to  the  Theban  wor- 
ship of  Pallas,  and  was  said  to  have  been  of  Phsenikian  origin, 

73 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 
Strophe  III 

And  ye,  all-working  Gods, 

Of  either  sex  divine, 

Protectors  of  our  towers, 
Give  not  our  city,  captured  by  the  spear, 

To  host  of  alien  speech.' 

Hear  ye  our  maidens  ;  hear,  '•• 

As  is  most  meet,  our  prayers  with  outstretched  hands. 

Antistrophe  III 

O  all  ye  loving  Powers, 

Compass  our  State  to  save  ; 

Show  how  that  State  ye  love  ; 
Think  on  our  public  votive  offerings, 

And  as  ye  think,  oh,  help  : 

Be  mindful  ye,  I  pray, 
Of  all  our  city's  rites  of  sacrifice. 

Re-enter  Eteocles 

Eteoc.  {to  the  Chorus)  I  ask  you,  O  ye  brood  intoler- 
able. 
Is  this  course  best  and  safest  for  our  city  ?  '^ 

Will  it  give  heart  to  our  beleaguered  host, 
That  ye  before  the  forms  of  guardian  Gods 
Should  wail  and  howl,  ye  loathed  of  the  wise  ;• 


introduced  by  Cadtnos.  There  seems,  however,  to  have  been  a 
town  Onkae  in  Boeotia,  with  which  the  name  was  doubtless 
connected. 

^  "Alien,"  on  account  of  the  difference  of  dialect  between  the 
speech  of  Argos  and  that  of  Boeotia,  though  both  were  Hellenic. 

2  The  vehemence  with  which  Eteocles  reproves  the  wild 
frenzied  wailing  of  the  Chorus  may  be  taken  as  an  element  of 
the  higher  culture  showing  itself  in  Athenian  life,  which  led 


THE   SEVEN  AGAINST  THEBES 

Ne'er  be  it  mine,  in  ill  estate  or  good, 

To  dwell  together  with  the  race  of  women  ; 

For  when  they  rule,  their  daring  bars  approach. 

And  when  they  fear,  alike  to  house  and  State 

Comes  greater  ill  :  and  now  with  these  your  rushings 

Hither  and  thither,  ye  have  troubled  sore 

Our  subjects  with  a  coward  want  of  heart ; 

And  do  your  best  for  those  our  foes  without ;  ** 

And  we  are  harassed  by  ourselves  within. 

This  comes  to  one  who  dwells  with  womankind. 

And  if  there  be  that  will  not  own  my  sway. 

Or  man  or  woman  in  their  prime,  or  those 

Who  can  be  classed  with  neither,  they  shall  take 

Their  trial  for  their  life,  nor  shall  they  'scape 

The  fate  of  stoning.     Things  outdoors  are  still 

The  man's  to  look  to  :  let  not  woman  counsel. 

Stay  thou  within,  and  do  no  mischief  more. 

Hear'st  thou,  or  no  i  or  speak  I  to  the  deaf  t 

Strophe  I 

Chr.  Dear  son  of  CEdipus,  *•• 

I  shuddered  as  I  heard  the  din,  the  din 

Of  many  a  chariot's  noise, 
When  on  the  axles  creaked  the  whirling  wheels, 

*And  when  I  heard  the  sound 
•Of  fire-wrought  curbs  within  the  horses'  mouths. 

Eteor.  What  then  ?     Did  ever  yet  the  sailor  flee 
From  stern  to  stem,  and  find  deliverance  so. 
While  his  ship  laboured  in  the  ocean's  wave  ?' 


Solon  to  restrain  such  lamentations  by  special  laws  (Plutarch, 
Solon,  c.  20).  Here,  too,  we  note  in  JEschylos  an  echo  of  the 
teaching  of  Epimenides. 

I  As  now  the  sailor  of  the  Mediterranean  turns  to  the  image 
pf  his  patron  saint,  so  of  old  he  ran  in  his  distress  to  the  figure 

7J 


THE   SEVEN  AGAINST  THEBES 

Antistkophe  I 
Chor.  Nay,  to  the  ancient  forms 
Of  mighty  Powers  I  rushed,  as  trusting  Gods ; 

And  when  behind  the  gates 
Was  heard  the  crash  of  fierce  and  pelting  storm,       ** 

Then  was  it,  in  my  fear, 
I  prayed  the  Blessed  Ones  to  guard  our  city. 

Eteoc.  Pray  that  our  towns  hold  out  'gainst  spear  of 

foes.' 
Chor.  Do  not  the  Gods  grant  these  things  ? 
Eteoc.  Nay  the  Gods, 

So  say  they,  leave  the  captured  city's  walls.* 

Strophe  II 
Chor.  Ah  !   never  in  my  life 
May  all  this  goodly  company  of  Gods 

Depart ;  nor  may  I  see 
This  city  scene  of  rushings  to  and  fro,  "• 

*And  hostile  army  burning  it  with  fire  ! 

Eteoc.  Nay,  call  not  on  the  Gods  with  counsel  base ; 
Obedience  is  the  mother  of  success. 
Child  strong  to  save.     'Tis  thus  the  saying  runs. 

of  his  God  upon  the  p/ow  of  his  ship  (often,  as  in  Acts  xxvilL 
II,  that  of  the  Dioscuri),  and  called  to  it  for  deliverance  (comp. 
Jonah  i.  8). 

1  Eteocles  seems  to  wish  for  a  short,  plain  prayer  for  deliver- 
ance, instead  of  the  cries  and  supplications  and  vain  repetitions 
of  the  Chorus. 

*  The  thought  thus  expressed  was,  that  the  Gods,  yielding  to 
the  mightier  law  of  destiny,  or  in  their  wrath  at  the  guilt  of  men, 
left  the  city  before  its  capture.  The  feeling  was  all  but  universal 
Its  two  representative  instances  are  found  in  Virgil,  y£«.  351 — 
"  Excessere  omnes  adytis  arisque  relictis 
Di  quibus  imperium  hoc  steterat ;  " 
and  the  narrative  given  alike  by  Tacitus  {Hist.  v.  13),  and 
Josephus  {Bell.  Jud.  vi.  5,  3),  that  the  cry  "  Let  us  depart  hence," 
was  heard  at  midnight  through  the  courts  of  the  Temple,  before 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

7« 


THE   SEVEN  AGAINST  THEBES 
Antistrophe  II 

Chor.  True  is  it  ;  but  the  Gods 
Have  yet  a  mightier  power,  and  oftentimes, 

In  pressure  of  sore  ill, 
It  raises  one  perplexed  from  direst  woe. 
When  dark  clouds  gather  thickly  o'er  his  ejes. 

Eteoc.  'Tis  work  of  men  to  offer  sacrifice 
And  victims  to  the  Gods,  when  foes  press  hard  ;       ^ 
Thine  to  be  dumb  and  keep  within  the  house. 

Strophe  III 

Chr.  'Tis  through  the  Gods  we  live 
In  city  unsubdued,  and  that  our  towers 
Ward  off  the  multitude  of  jealous  foes. 

What  Power  will  grudge  us  this  ? 

Eteoc.  I  grudge  not  your  devotion  to  the  Gods  ; 
But  lest  you  make  my  citizens  faint-hearted 
Be  tranquil,  nor  to  fear's  excess  give  way. 

Antistrophe  III 

Chor.  Hearing  but  now  a  din 
Strange,  wildly  mingled,  I  with  shrinking  fear 
Here  to  our  city's  high  Acropolis, 

Time-hallowed  spot,  have  come.  '*' 

Eteoc.  Nay,  if  ye  hear  of  wounded  men  or  dying, 
Bear  them  not  swiftly  off  with  wailing  loud  ; 
*For  blood  of  men  is  Ares'  chosen  food.' 

Ckor.  Hark  I  now  I  hear  the  panting  of  the  steeds. 
Eteoc.  Clear  though  thou  hear,  yet  hear  not  over- 
much. 
Chor.    Lo !    from   its   depths    the   fortress  groans, 
beleaguered. 

1  Sc,  Blood  must  be  shed  in  war.     Ares  would  not  be  Ares 
without  it.     It  is  better  to  take  it  as  it  comes. 
77 


THfi   SfiVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Eteoc.  It  is  enough  that  I  provide  for  this. 
Chr.  I  fear  :  the  din  increases  at  the  gates. 
Eteoc.  Be  still,  say  nought  of  these  things  in  the  city. 
Chor.  O  holy  Band  !'  desert  ye  not  our  towers.     "• 
Eteoc.  A  curse  fall  on  thee  !  wilt  thou  not  be  still  i 
Chor.  Gods  of  my  city,  from  the  slave's  lot  save  me  ! 
Eteoc.  'Tis  thou  enslav'st  thyself  and  all  thy  city. 
Chor.  Oh,  turn  thy  darts,  great  Zeus,  against  our 

foes ! 
Eteoc.  Oh,  Zeus,  what  race  of  women  thou  hast 

given  us  ! 
Chor.  A  sorry  race,  like  men  whose  city  falls. 
Eteoc.  What  ?     Cling  to  these  statues,  yet  speak 

words  of  ill  ? 
Chor.  Fear  hurries  on  my  tongue  in  want  of  courage. 
Eteoc.  Could'st  thou  but  grant  one  small  boon  at 


my  prayer 


Chor.  Speak  it  out  quickly,  and  [  soon  shall  know. 

Eteoc.  Be  still,  poor  fool,  and  frighten  not  thy  friends. 

Chor.  Still  am  I,  and  with  others  bear  our  fate. 

Eteoc.  These  words  of  thine  I  much  prefer  to  those  : 
And  further,  though  no  longer  at  the  shrines. 
Pray  thou  for  victory,  that  the  Gods  fight  with  us. 
And  when  my  prayers  thou  hearest,  then  do  thou 
Raise  a  loud,  welcome,  holy  paean-shout. 
The  Hellenes'  wonted  cry  at  sacrifice ; 
So  cheer  thy  friends,  and  check  their  fear  of  foes ; 
And  I  unto  our  country's  guardian  Gods,  *"' 

Who  hold  the  plain  or  watch  the  agora. 
The  springs  of  Dirk^,  and  Ismenos'  stream ; — 
If  things  go  well,  and  this  our  city's  saved, — 
I  vow  that  staining  with  the  blood  of  sheep 


1  Sc,  the  company  of  Gods,  Pallas,  Hera  and  the  others  whom 
the  Chorus  had  invoked. 

7l 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

The  altar-hearths  of  Gods,  or  slaying  bulls, 

We'll  fix  our  trophies,  and  our  foemen's  robes 

On  the  spear's  point  on  consecrated  walls, 

Before  the  shrines  I'll  hang.^     Pray  thou  this  prayer, 

Not  weakly  wailing,  nor  with  vain  wild  sobs. 

For  no  whit  more  thou'lt  'scape  thy  destined  lot :     '™ 

And  I  six  warriors,  with  myself  as  seventh, 

Against  our  foes  in  full  state  like  their  own, 

Will  station  at  the  seven  gates'  entrances. 

Ere  hurrying  heralds  and  swift-rushing  words 

Come  and  inflame  them  in  the  stress  of  need.      [Ext/ 

Strophe  1 

C^or.  My  heart  is  full  of  care  and  knows  not  sleep. 

By  panic  fear  o'ercome  ; 

And  troubles  throng  my  soul, 

And  set  a-glow  my  dread 
Of  the  great  host  encamped  around  our  walls, 

As  when  a  trembling  dove 

Fears,  for  her  callow  brood,  '*' 

The  snakes  that  come,  ill  mates  for  her  soft  nest ; 

For  some  upon  our  towers 
March  in  full  strength  of  mingled  multitude ; 

And  what  will  me  befall  ? 
And  others  on  our  men  on  either  hand 

Hurl  rugged  blocks  of  stone. 
In  every  way,  ye  Zeus-born  Gods,  defend  *" 

The  city  and  the  host 

That  Cadmos  claim  as  sire. 


'  Reference  to  this  custom,  which  has  passed  from  Pagan 
temples  into  Christian  churches,  is  found  in  the  Agamemnon,  v. 
562.  It  was  connected,  of  course,  with  the  general  practice  of 
offering  as  ex  votos  any  personal  ornaments  or  clothing  as  a  token 
of  thanksgiving  for  special  mercies. 
79 


tHK   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Antistrophe  I 
What  better  land  will  ye  receive  for  this, 

If  ye  to  foes  resign 

This  rich  and  fertile  clime, 

And  that  Dirkasan  stream, 
Goodliest  of  founts  by  great  Poseidon  sent, 

Who  circleth  earth,  or  those 

Who  Tethys  parent  call  r^  ** 

And  therefore,  O  ye  Gods  that  guard  our  city. 

Sending  on  those  without 
Our  towers  a  woe  that  robs  men  of  their  life, 

And  malces  them  lose  their  shield. 
Gain  glory  for  these  countrymen  of  mine ; 

And  take  your  standing-ground. 
As  saviours  of  the  city,  firm  and  true, 

In  answer  to  our  cry 

Of  wailing  and  of  prayer. 

Strophe  II 

For  sad  it  were  to  hurl  to  Hades  dark 

A  city  of  old  fame,  "• 

The  spoil  and  prey  of  war. 
With  foulest  shame  in  dust  and  ashes  laid. 
By  an  Achaean  foe  at  God's  decree ; 
And  that  our  women,  old  and  young  alike. 

Be  dragged  away,  ah  me ! 

Like  horses,  by  their  hair 

Their  robes  torn  off  from  them. 
And  lo,  the  city  wails,  made  desolate. 

While  with  confused  cry  ** 

The  wretched  prisoners  meet  doom  worse  than  death. 

Ah,  at  this  grievous  fate 

I  shudder  ere  it  comes. 

*  Rivers  and  streams  as  the  children  of  Tethys  and  Okeanos. 
80 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Antistrophe  II 

And  piteous  'tis  for  those  whose  youth  is  fresh 

Before  the  rites  that  cull  ' 

Their  fair  and  first-ripe  fruit, 
To  take  a  hateful  journey  from  their  homes. 
Nay,  but  I  say  the  dead  far  better  fare 
Than  these,  for  when  a  city  is  subdued 

It  bears  full  many  an  ill. 

This  man  takes  prisoner  that,  ' 

Or  slays,  or  burns  with  fire  ; 
And  all  the  city  is  defiled  with  smoke. 

And  Ares  fans  the  flame 
In  wildest  rage,  and  laying  many  low, 

Tramples  with  foot  unclean 

On  all  men  sacred  hold. 

Strophe  III 

And  hollow  din  is  heard  throughout  the  town. 

Hemmed  in  by  net  of  towers ; 
And  man  by  man  is  slaughtered  with  the  spear, 

And  cries  of  bleeding  babes. 

Of  children  at  the  breast,  " 

Are  heard  in  piteous  wail, 
And  rapine,  sister  of  the  plunderer's  rush, 

Spoiler  with  spoiler  meets, 
And  empty-handed  empty-handed  calls, 

Wishing  for  share  of  gain, 
Both  eager  for  a  portion  no  whit  less. 

For  more  than  equal  lot 
With  what  they  deem  the  others'  hands  have  found. 

Antistrophe  III 

And  all  earth's  fruits  cast  wildly  on  the  ground,         ' 
Meeting  the  cheerless  eye 
I  8i  r 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Of  frugal  housewives,  give  them  pain  of  heart ; 

And  many  a  gift  of  earth 

In  formless  heaps  is  whirled 

In  waves  of  nothingness ; 
And  the  young  maidens  know  a  sorow  new  ; 

For  now  the  foe  prevails, 
And  gains  rich  prize  of  wretched  captive's  bed;         *"• 

And  now  their  only  hope 
Is  that  the  night  of  death  will  come  at  last. 

Their  truest,  best  ally. 
To  rescue  them  from  sorrow  fraught  with  tears. 

Enter  'Eteoci.v.s,  followed  by  his  Chief  Captains, 
and  by  the  Scout 

Semi-Chor.  A.   The  army  scout,  so  deem   I,  brings 
to  us, 
Dear  friends,  some  tidings  new,  with  quickest  speed 
Plying  the  nimble  axles  of  his  feet. 

Semi-Chor.  B.     Yea,   the    king's   self,   the   son    of 
(Edipus, 
Is  nigh  to  hear  the  scout's  exact  report ; 
And  haste  denies  him  too  an  even  step. 

Mess.  I  knowing  well,  will  our  foes'  state  report,     '"" 
How  each  his  lot  hath  stationed  at  the  gates. 
At  those  of  Proetos,  Tydeus  thunders  loud. 
And  him  the  prophet  sufters  not  to  cross 
Ismenos'  fords,  the  victims  boding  ill.' 
And  Tydeus,  raging  eager  for  the  fight, 
Shouts  like  a  serpent  in  its  noon-tide  scream, 

1  Here,  as  in  v.  571,  Tydeus  appears  as  the  real  leader  of  the 
expedition,  who  had  persuaded  Adrastos  and  the  other  chiefs  to 
join  in  it,  and  Amp  iaraos,  the  prophet,  the  son  of  CEcleus,  as 
having  all  along  foreseen  its  disastrous  issue.  The  account  of  the 
expedition  in  the  (Edipus  at  Colonos  (1300- 1330)  naay  be  com- 
pared with  this. 

82 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

And  on  the  prophet,  CEcleus'  son,  heaps  shame, 

That  he,  in  coward  fear,  doth  crouch  and  fawn 

Before  the  doom  and  peril  of  the  fight. 

And  with  such  speech  he  shakes  his  triple  crest, 

O'ershadowing  all  his  helm,  and  'neath  his  shield      •'**' 

Bells  wrought  in  bronze  ring  out  their  chimes  of  fear  ; 

And  on  his  shield  he  bears  this  proud  device, — 

A  firmament  enchased,  all  bright  with  stars ;' 

And  in  the  midst  the  full  moon's  glittering  orb, 

Sovran  of  stars  and  eye  of  Night,  shines  forth. 

And  thus  exulting  in  o'er  boastful  arms. 

By  the  stream's  bank  he  shouts  in  lust  of  war, 

[E'en  as  a  war-horse  panting  in  his  strength 

Against  the  curb  that  galls  him,  who  at  sound 

Of  trumpet's  clang  chafes  hotly.]      Whom  wilt  thou 

Set  against  him  ?     Who  is  there  strong  enough 

When  the  bolts  yield,  to  guard  the  Proetan  gates  ?     ^ 

Eteoc.  No  fear  have  I  of  any  man's  array  ; 
Devices  have  no  power  to  pierce  or  wound. 
And  crest  and  bells  bite  not  without  a  spear  ; 
And  for  this  picture  of  the  heavens  at  night, 
Of  which  thou  tellest,  glittering  on  his  shield, 
•Perchance  his  madness  may  a  prophet  prove  ; 
For  if  night  fall  upon  his  dying  eyes, 
Then  for  the  man  who  bears  that  boastful  sign 
It  may  right  well  be  all  too  truly  named,  *" 

And  his  own  pride  shall  prophet  be  of  ill. 
And  against  Tydeus,  to  defend  the  gates, 
I'll  set  this  valiant  son  of  Astacos  ; 

1  The  legend  of  the  Medusa's  head  on  the  shield  of  Athena 
shows  the  practice  of  thus  decorating  shields  to  have  been  of  remote 
date.  In  Homer  it  does  not  appear  as  common,  and  the  account 
given  of  the  shield  ol  Achilles  lays  stress  upon  the  work  of  the 
artist  (Hephaestos)  who  wrought  the  shield  in  relief,  not,  as  here 
upon  painted  insignia.  They  were  obviously  common  in  the 
time  of  ./Eschylos. 

83 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST   THEBES 

Noble  is  he,  and  honouring  well  the  throne 

Of  Reverence,  and  hating  vaunting  speech, 

Slow  to  all  baseness,  unattuned  to  ill  : 

And  of  the  dragon-race  that  Ares  spared' 

He  as  a  scion  grows,  a  native  true, 

E'en  Melanippos  ;  Ares  soon  will  test 

His  valour  in  the  hazard  of  the  die  : 

And  kindred  Justice  sends  him  forth  to  war. 

For  her  that  bore  him  foeman's  spear  to  check.  "' 

Strophe  I 

C/.or.    May   the   Gods    grant    my   champion   good 
success  ! 

For  justly  he  goes  forth 

For  this  our  State  to  fight ; 

But  yet  I  quake  with  fear 
To  see  the  deaths  of  those  who  die  for  friends. 

Mess.  Yea,  may  the  Gods  give  good  success  to  him ! 
The  Electran  gates  have  fallen  to  Capaneus, 
A  second  giant,  taller  far  than  he 
Just  named,  with  boast  above  a  mortal's  bounds  ; 
And  dread  his  threats  against  our  towers  (O  Fortune,   *^ 
Turn  them  aside  !) — for  whether  God  doth  will. 
Or  willeth  not,  he  says  that  he  will  sack'' 
The  city,  nor  shall  e'en  the  wrath  of  Zeus, 
On  the  plain  swooping,  turn  him  from  his  will  ; 
And  the  dread  lightnings  and  hot  thunderbolts 
He  likens  to  the  heat  of  noon-day  sun. 

1  The  older  families  of  Thebes  boasted  that  they  sprang  from 
the  survivors  of  the  Sparti,  who,  sprung  from  the  Dragon's  teeth, 
waged  deadly  war  against  each  other,  till  all  but  five  were  slain. 
The  later  settlers,  who  were  said  to  have  come  with  Cadmos, 
stood  to  these  as  the  "  greater"  to  the  "  lesser ^tf«/«"  at  Rome. 

2  So  in  the  Antigone  of  Sophocles  (v.  134),  Capaneus  appears 
as  the  special  representative  of  boastful,  reckless  impiety. 

84 


THE    SEVEN   AGAINST   THEBES 

And  his  device,  the  naked  form  of  one 
Who  bears  a  torch  ;  and  bright  the  blaze  shines  forth 
And  in  gold  characters  he  speaks  the  words, 
"The  city  I  will  burn."     Against  this  man 
Send    forth    .    .    .    but   who   will   meet    him    in    the 
fight  ?  ^'^ 

Who,  without  fear,  await  this  warrior  proud  ? 

Eteoc.  Herein,  too,  profit  upon  profit  comes  ; 
And  'gainst  the  vain  and  boastful  thoughts  of  men, 
Their  tongue  itself  is  found  accuser  true. 
Threatening,  equipped  for  work  is  Capaneus, 
Scorning  the  Gods  :  and  giving  speech  full  play. 
And  in  wild  joy,  though  mortal,  vents  at  Zeus, 
High  in  the  heavens,  loud-spoken  foaming  words. 
And  well  I  trust  on  him  shall  rightly  come 
Fire-bearing  thunder,  nothing  likened  then 
To  heat  of  noon-day  sun.     And  so  'gainst  him,        "" 
Though  very  bold  of  speech,  a  man  is  set 
Of  fiery  temper,  Polyphontes  strong, 
A  trusty  bulwark,  by  the  loving  grace 
Of  guardian  Artemis^  and  other  Gods. 
Describe  another,  placed  at  orher  gates. 

Antistrophe  I 

Chor.  A  curse  on  him  who  'gainst  our  city  boasts ! 
May  thunder  smite  him  down  *^ 

Before  he  force  his  way 
Into  my  home,  and  drive 
Me  from  my  maiden  bower  with  haughty  spear  ? 

Mess.  And  now  I'll  tell  of  him  who  by  the  gates 
Stands  next  ;  for  to  Eteocles,  as  third. 
To  march  his  cohort  to  Neistian  gates, 

1  Artemis,  as  one  of  the  special  Deities  to  whom  Thebes  was 
consecrated. 

«S 


THE    SEVEN    AGAINST  THEBES 

Leaped  the  third  lot  from  upturned  brazen  helm  : 

And  he  his  mares,  in  head-gear  snorting,  whirls, 

Full  eager  at  the  gates  to  fall  and  die  ; 

Their  whistling  nozzles  of  barbaric  mode, 

Are  filled  with  loud  blast  of  the  panting  nostrils.' 

In  no  poor  fashion  is  his  shield  devised  ;  *"" 

A  full-armed  warrior  climbs  a  ladder's  rungs. 

And  mounts  his  foeman's  towers  as  bent  to  sack  ; 

And  he  too  cries,  in  words  of  written  speech. 

That  "Not  e'en  Ares  from  the  towers  shall  drive 

HIM." 

Send  thou  against  him  some  defender  true, 
To  ward  the  yoke  of  bondage  from  our  State. 

Eteoc.  Such  would  I  send  now  ;  by  good  luck  indeed 
He  has  been  sent,  his  vaunting  in  his  deeds, 
Megareus,  Creon's  son,  who  claims  descent 
From  those  as  Sparti  known,  and  not  by  noise 
Of  neighings  loud  of  warlike  steeds  dismayed,  *" 

Will  he  the  gates  abandon,  but  in  death 
Will  pay  our  land  his  nurture's  debt  in  full,^ 
Or  taking  two  men,  and  a  town  to  boot, 
(That  on  the  shield,)  will  deck  his  father's  house 
With  those  his  trophies.     Of  another  tell 
The  bragging  tale,  nor  grudge  thy  words  to  me. 

Strophe  II 

Chor.  Him  I  wish  good  success, 
O  guardian  of  my  home,  and  for  his  foes 
All  ill  success  I  pray  ; 


1  Apparently  an  Asiatic  invention,  to  increase  the  terror  of  an 
attack  of  war-chariots. 

2  1  he  phrase  and  thought  were  almost  proverbial  in  Athens. 
Men,  as  citizens,  were  thought  of  as  fed  at  a  common  table, 
bound   to  contribute  their  gifts  to  the  common  stock.     When 

86 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST   THEBES 

And  since  against  our  land  their  haughty  words 
With  maddened  soul  they  speak, 
May  Zeus,  the  sovran  judge, 
With  fiery,  hot  displeasure  look  on  them  !  *** 

Mess.  Another  stands  as  fourth  at  gates  hard  by, 
Onca-Athena's,  with  a  shout  of  war, 
Hippomedon's  great  form  and  massive  limbs  ; 
And  as  he  whirled  his  orb,  his  vast  shield's  disk, 
I  shuddered  ;  yea,  no  idle  words  I  speak. 
No  cheap  and  common  draughtsman  sure  was  he 
Who  wrought  this  cunning  ensign  on  his  shield  : 
Typhon  emitting  from  his  lips  hot  blast 
Of  darkling  smoke,  the  flickering  twin  of  fire  : 
And  round  the  belly  of  the  hollow  shield 
A  rim  was  made  with  wreaths  of  twisted  snakes.        •" 
And  he  too  shouts  his  war-cry,  and  in  frenzy, 
As  man  possessed  by  Ares,  hastes  to  battle. 
Like  Thyiad,  darting  terror  from  his  eyes.' 
'Gainst  such  a  hero's  might  we  well  may  guard  ; 
Already  at  the  gates  men  brag  of  rout. 

Eteoc.  First,  the  great  Onca-Pallas,  dwelling  nigh 
Our  city's  gates,  and  hating  man's  bold  pride. 
Shall  ward  him  from  her  nestlings  like  a  snake 
Of  venom  dread  ;  and  next  Hyperbios, 
The  stalwart  son  of  CEnops,  has  been  chosen,  *" 

A  hero  'gainst  this  hero,  willing  found 
To  try  his  destiny  at  Fortune's  hest. 
No  fault  has  he  in  form,  or  heart,  or  arms  ; 
And  Hermes  with  good  reason  pairs  them  off; 
For  man  with  man  will  fight  as  enemy, 

they  offered  up  their  lives  in  battle,  they  were  giving,  as  Pericles 
says  (Thucyd.  ii.  43),  their  noblest  "contribution,"  paying  in 
full  their  subscription  to  the  society  of  which  they  were  members. 

1  Thyiad,  another  name  for  thi  Maenads,  the  frenzied  atten- 
dants  on  Oionysos. 

»7 


THE    SEVEN   AGAINST   THEBES 

And  on  their  shields  they'll  bring  opposing  Gods  ; 
For  this  man  beareth  Typhon,  breathing  fire, 
And  on  Hyperbios'  shield  sits  father  Zeus, 
Full  firm,  with  burning  thunderbolt  in  hand  ; 
And  never  yet  has  man  seen  Zeus,  I  trow, 
O'ercome.     Such  then  the  favour  of  the  Gods,         '" 
We  with  the  winners,  they  with  losers  are  :* 
Good  reason  then  the  rivals  so  should  fare. 
If  Zeus  than  Typhon  stronger  be  in  fight. 
And  to  Hyperbios  Zeus  will  saviour  prove, 
As  that  device  upon  his  shield  presents  him. 

Antistrophe  II 

Chor.  Now  do  I  trust  that  he 
Who  bears  upon  his  shield  the  hated  form 

Of  Power  whom  Earth  doth  shroud, 
Antagonist  to  Zeus,  unloved  by  men 

And  by  the  ageless  Gods, 

Before  those  gates  of  ours 
To  his  own  hurt  may  dash  his  haughty  head.  *" 

Mess.  So  may  it  be !     And  now  the  fifth  I  tell, 
Who  the  fifth  gates,  the  Northern,  occupies. 
Hard  by  Amphion's  tomb,  the  son  of  Zeus ; 
And  by  his  spear  he  swears,  (which  he  is  bold 
To  honour  more  than  God  or  his  own  eyes,) 
That  he  will  sack  the  fort  of  the  Cadmeians 
With  that  spear's  might.     So  speaks  the  offspring  fair 
Of  mother  mountain-bred,  a  stripling  hero  ; 
And  the  soft  down  is  creeping  o'er  his  cheeks,  *** 

Youth's  growth,  and  hair  that  floweth  full  and  thick ; 


1  Sc,  in  the  legends  of  Typhon,  not  he,  but  Zeus,  had  proved 
the  conqueror.  The  warrior,  therefore,  who  chose  Typhon  for 
his  badge  was  identifying  himself  with  the  losing,  not  the  win- 
ning side. 

88 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

And  he  with  soul,  not  maiden's  like  his  name,' 
But  stern,  with  flashing  eye,  is  standing  there. 
Nor  stands  he  at  the  gate  without  a  vaunt ; 
For  on  his  brass-wr  jught  buckler,  strong  defence. 
Full-orbed,  his  body  guarding,  he  the  shame 
Of  this  our  city  bears,  the  ravenous  Sphinx, 
With  rivets  fixed,  all  burnished  and  embossed;' 
And  under  her  she  holdeth  a  Cadmeian, 
That  so  on  him  most  arrows  might  be  shot. 
No  chance  that  he  will  fight  a  peddling  fight,  "" 

Nor  shame  the  long,  long  journey  he  hath  come, 
Parthenopasos,  in  Arcadia  born  : 
This  man  did  Argos  welcome  as  a  guest. 
And  now  he  pays  her  for  her  goodly  rearing. 
And  threatens  these  our  towers  with  .  .  .  God  avert  it ! 
Eteoc.  Should  the  Gods  give  them  what  they  plan 
'gainst  us. 
Then  they,  with  those  their  godless  boastings  high. 
Would  perish  shamefully  and  utterly. 
And  for  this  man  of  Arcady  thou  tell'st  of. 
We  have  a  man  who  boasts  not,  but  his  hand 
Sees  the  right  thing  to  do  ; — Actor,  of  him  '^ 

I  named  but  now  the  brother, — who  no  tongue 
Divorced  from  deeds  will  ever  let  within 
Our  gates,  to  spread  and  multiply  our  ills. 
Nor  him  who  bears  upon  his  foeman's  shield 
The  image  of  the  hateful  venomed  beast ; 
But  she  without  shall  blame  him  as  he  tries 


1  The  name,  as  we  are  told  in  v.  542,  is  Parthenopaeos,  the 
maiden-faced. 

2  The  Sphinx,  besides  its  general  character  as  an  emblem  of 
terror,  had,  of  course,  a  special  meaning  as  directed  to  the 
Thebans.  The  warrior  who  bore  it  threatened  to  renew  the  old 
days  when  the  monster  whom  CEdipus  had  overcome  had  laid 
waste  their  city. 

89 


THE    SEVEN   AGAINST   THEBES 

To  take  her  in,  when  she  beneath  our  walls 
Gets  sorely  bruised  and  battered.'     And  herein, 
If  the  Gods  will,  I  prophet  true  shall  prove. 

Strophe  III 

Chor.  Thy  words  thrill  through  my  breast ; 

My  hair  stands  all  on  end, 

To  hear  the  boastings  great 

Of  those  who  spealc  great  things 

Unholy.     May  the  Gods 

Destroy  them  in  our  land ! 
Mess.  A  sixth  I  tell  of,  one  of  noblest  mood, 
Amphiaraos,  seer  and  warrior  famed  ; 
He,  stationed  at  the  Homoloian  gates, 
Reproves  the  mighty  Tydeus  with  sharp  words 
As  *  murderer,'  and  '  troubler  of  the  State,'  * 
*  To  Argos  teacher  of  all  direst  ills, 
Erinnys'  sumpnour,'^  'murder's  minister,' 
Whose  counsels  led  Adrastos  to  these  ills. 
*And  at  thy  brother  Polyneikes  glancing 
With  eyes  uplifted  for  his  father's  fate, 
And  ending,  twice  he  syllabled  his  name,* 
And  called  him,  and  thus  speaketh  with  his  lips  :— 


1  Sc. ,  the  Sphinx  on  his  shield  will  not  be  allowed  to  enter  the 
city.  It  will  only  serve  as  a  mark,  attracting  men  to  attack  both 
it  and  the  warrior  who  bears  it. 

2  The  quarrel  between  Tydeus  and  the  seer  Amphiaraos  had 
been  already  touched  upon. 

'  I  have  used  the  old  English  word  to  express  a  term  of  like 
technical  use  in  Athenian  law  processes.  As  the  "  sumpnour  " 
called  witnesses  or  parties  to  a  suit  into  court,  so  Tydeus  had 
summoned  the  Erinnys  to  do  her  work  of  destruction. 

*  Sc,  so  pronounced  his  name  as  to  emphasise  the  signifi- 
cance of  its  two  comfMDnent  p)arts,  as  indicating  that  he  who  bore 
it  was  a  man  of  much  contention. 
90 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

**  A  goodly  deed,  and  pleasant  to  the  Gods, 

Noble  for  after  age  to  hear  and  tell, 

Thy  father's  city  and  thy  country's  Gods 

To  waste  through  might  of  mercenary  host ! 

And  how  shall  Justice  stay  thy  mother's  tears  ?'         "" 

And  how,  when  conquered,  shall  thy  fatherland, 

Laid  waste,  become  a  true  ally  to  thee  ? 

As  for  myself,  I  shall  that  land  make  rich,' 

A  prophet  buried  in  a  foeman's  soil : 

To  arms !   I  look  for  no  inglorious  death." 

So  spake  the  prophet,  bearing  full-orbed  shield 

Wrought  all  of  bronze,  no  ensign  on  that  orb. 

He  wishes  to  be  just,  and  not  to  seem,' 

Reaping  full  harvest  from  his  soul's  deep  furrows. 

Whence  ever  new  and  noble  counsels  spring.  "* 

I  bid  thee  send  defenders  wise  and  brave 

Against  him.     Dread  is  he  who  fears  the  Gods. 

Eteoc.  Fie  on  the  chance  that  brings  the  righteous 
man 
Close-mated  with  the  ungodly !      In  all  deeds 


1  The  words  are  obscu  e,  but  seem  to  refer  to  the  badge  of 
Polyneikes,  the  figure  of  Justice  described  in  v.  643  as  on  bis 
shield.  How  shall  that  Justice,  the  seer  asks,  console  Jocasta  for 
her  son's  death  ?    Another  rendering  gives, 

•'  And  how  shall  Justice  quench  a  mother's  life?" 
the   "mother"  being  the  country  against  which   Polyneikes 
wars. 

2  The  words  had  a  twofold  fulfilment  (i)  in  the  burial  of 
Amphiaraos,  in  the  Theban  soil ;  and  (2)  in  the  honour  which 
accrued  to  Th-^bes  after  his  death,  through  the  fame  of  the 
oracle  at  his  shrine. 

3  The  passage  cannot  be  passed  over  without  noticing  the  old 
tradition  (Plutarch,  AHsteid.  c.  3),  that  when  the  actor  uttered 
these  words,  he  and  the  whole  audience  looked  to  Aristeides. 
surnamed  the  Just,  as  recognising  that  the  words  were  true  of 
him  as  they  were  of  no  on--  else  "  Best,"  instead  of  "  just,'  is, 
however,  a  very  old  various  reading. 

9» 


THE    SEVEN    AGAINST   THEBES 

Nought  is  there  worse  than  evil  fellowship, 

A  crop  men  should  not  reap.     Death  still  is  found 

The  harvest  of  the  field  of  frenzied  pride  ; 

For  either  hath  the  godly  man  embarked 

With  sailors  hot  in  insolence  and  guile,' 

And  perished  with  the  race  the  Gods  did  loathe  ;     ®'" 

Or  just  himself,  with  citizens  who  wrong 

The  stranger  and  are  heedless  of  the  Gods, 

Falling  most  justly  in  the  self-same  snare, 

By  God's  scourge  smitten,  shares  the  common  doom. 

And  thus  this  seer  I  speak  of,  CEcleus'  son. 

Righteous,  and  wise,  and  good,  and  reverent, 

A  mighty  prophet,  mingling  with  the  godless 

*And  men  full  bold  of  speech  in  reason's  spite, 

Who  take  long  march  to  reach  a  far-off  city,^ 

If  Zeus  so  will,  shall  be  hurled  down  with  them.      ^° 

And  he,  I  trow,  shall  not  draw  nigh  the  gates, 

Not  through  faint-heart  or  any  vice  of  mood. 

But  well  he  knows  this  war  shall  bring  his  death. 

If  any  fruit  is  found  in  Loxias'  words ; 

And  He  or  holds  his  speech  or  speaks  in  season. 

Yet  against  him  the  hero  Lasthenes, 

A  foe  of  strangers,  at  the  gates  we'll  set ; 

Old  in  his  mind,  his  body  in  its  prime. 

His  eye  swift-footed,  and  his  hand  not  slow 

To  grasp  the  spear  from  'neath  the  shield  laid  bare  ;'  "^ 

Yet  'tis  by  God's  gift  men  must  win  success. 

1  If  the  formfer  reference  to  Aristeides  be  admitted,  we  can 
scarcely  avoid  seeing  in  this  passage  an  allusion  to  Themistocles, 
as  one  with  whose  reckless  and  democratic  policy  it  w;is  danger- 
ous for  the  more  conservative  leader  to  associate  himself. 

>  The  far-off  city,  not  of  Thebes,  but  of  Hades.  In  the  legend 
of  Thebes,  the  earth  opened  and  swallowed  up  Amphiaraos,  as 
in  583- 

3  The  short  sp)ear  was  usually  carried  under  the  shelter  of  the 
shield ;  when  brought  into  action  it  was,  of  course,  laid  bare, 
9Z 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 
Antistrophe  III 

Chor.  Hear,  O  ye  Gods !  our  prayers, 

Our  just  entreaties  grant,' 

That  so  our  State  be  blest. 

Turn  ye  the  toils  of  war 

Upon  the  invading  host. 

Outside  the  walls  may  Zeus 

With  thunder  smite  them  low ! 
Mess.  The  seventh  chief  then  who  at  the  seventh 

gate  stands, 
Thine  own,  own  brother,  I  will  speak  of  now, 
What  curses  on  our  State  he  pours,  and  prays  '^ 

That  he  the  towers  ascending,  and  proclaimed 
By  herald's  voice  to  all  the  territory. 
And  shouting  out  the  captor's  pasan-cry. 
May  so  fight  with  thee,  slay,  and  with  thee  die ; 
Or  driving  thee  alive,  who  did'st  him  wrong, 
May  on  thee  a  vengeance  wreak  like  in  kind. 
So  clamours  he,  and  bids  his  father's  Gods, 
His  country's  guardians,  look  upon  his  prayers, 
[And  grant  them  all.     So  Polyneikes  prays.] 
And  he  a  new  and  well-wrought  shield  doth  bear. 
And  twofold  sign  upon  it  riveted  ;  "** 

For  there  a  woman  with  a  stately  tread 
Leads  one  who  seems  a  warrior  wrought  in  gold  : 
Justice  she  calls  herself,  and  thus  she  speaks : 

"  I   WILL  BRING  BACK  THIS  MAN,  AND   HE  SHALL  HAVE 
The  CITY  AND  HIS  father's   DWELLING-PLACE." 

Such  are  the  signs  and  mottoes  of  those  men  ; 
And  thou,  know  well  whom  thou  dost  mean  to  send : 
So  thou  shalt  never  blame  my  heraldings ; 
And  thou  thyself  know  how  to  steer  the  State. 

Eteoc.  O  frenzy-stricken,  hated  sore  of  Gods !       *" 
O  woe-fraught  race  (my  race !)  of  CEdipus ! 
Ah  me !  my  father's  curse  is  now  fulfilled  ; 
93 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

But  neither  is  it  meet  to  weep  or  wail. 

Lest  cry  m'ore  grievous  on  the  issue  come. 

Of  Polyneikes,  name  and  omen  true, 

We  soon  shall  know  what  way  his  badge  shall  end. 

Whether  his  gold-wrought  letters  shall  restore  him, 

His  shield's  great  swelling  words  with  frenzied  soul. 

An  if  great  Justice,  Zeus's  virgin  child. 

Ruled  o'er  his  words  and  acts,  this  might  have  been  ;   **" 

But  neither  when  he  left  his  mother's  womb. 

Nor  in  his  youth,  nor  yet  in  ripening  age, 

Nor  when  his  beard  was  gathered  on  his  chin. 

Did  Justice  count  him  meet  for  fellowship  ; 

Nor  do  I  think  that  she  befriends  him  now 

In  this  great  outrage  on  his  father's  land. 

Yea,  justly  Justice  would  as  falsely  named 

Be  known,  if  she  with  one  all-daring  joined. 

In  this  I  trust,  and  I  myself  will  face  him  : 

Who  else  could  claim  a  greater  right  than  I  ?  *'*' 

Brother  with  brother  fighting,  king  with  king, 

And  foe  with  foe,  I'll  stand.     Come,  quickly  fetch 

My  greaves  that  guard  against  the  spear  and  stones. 

Chor.  Nay,  dearest  friend,  thou  son  of  CEdipus, 
Be  ye  not  like  to  him  with  that  ill  name. 
It  is  enough  Cadmeian  men  should  fight 
Against  the  Argives.     That  blood  may  be  cleansed ; 
But  death  so  murderous  of  two  brothers  born. 
This  is  pollution  that  will  ne'er  wax  old. 

Eteoc.  If  a  man  must  bear  evil,  let  him  still  **' 

Be  without  shame — sole  profit  that  in  death. 
[No  glory  comes  of  base  and  evil  deeds]. 

Chor.  What  dost  thou  crave,  my  son  ?     Let  no  ill 
fate. 
Frenzied  and  hot  for  war, 
Carry  thee  headlong  on  ; 
Check  the  first  onset  of  an  evil  lust. 
94 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Eteoc.  Since  God  so  hotly  urges  on  the  matter, 
Let  all  of  Laios'  race  whom  Phcebos  hates, 
Drift  with  the  breeze  upon  Cokyios'  wave. 
Chor.  An  over-fierce  and  passionate  desire 
Stirs  thee  and  pricks  thee  on 
To  work  an  evil  deed 
Of  guilt  of  blood  thy  hand  should  never  shed.  ** 

Eteoc.  Nay,  my  dear  father's  curse,  in  full-grown  hate, 
Dwells  on  dry  eyes  that  cannot  shed  a  tear, 
And  speaks  of  gain  before  the  after-doom. 

Chor.  But  be  not  thou  urged  on.    The  coward's  name 
Shall  not  be  thine,  for  thou 
Hast  ordered  well  thy  life. 
Dark-robed  Erinnys  enters  not  the  house. 
When  at  men's  hands  the  Gods 
Accept  their  sacrifice. 
Eteoc.  As  for  the  Gods,  they  scorned  us  long  ago. 
And  smile  but  on  the  offering  of  our  deaths ;  '*" 

What  boots  it  then  on  death's  doom  still  to  fawn  ? 
Chor.  Nay  do  it  now,  while  yet  'tis  in  thy  power  ; ' 
Perchance  may  fortune  shift 
With  tardy  change  of  mood. 
And  come  with  spirit  less  implacable : 
At  present  fierce  and  hot 
She  waxeth  in  her  rage. 
Eteoc.  Yea,  fierce  and  hot  the  Curse  of  CEdipus ; 
And  all  too  true  the  visions  of  the  night, 
My  father's  treasured  store  distributing. 

Chor.  Yield  to  us  women,  though  thou  lov'st  us  not. 

Eteoc.  Speak  then  what  may  be  done,  and  be  not 

long.  "0 

Chor.  Tre^rl  not  the  path  that  to  the  seventh  gate 

leads. 


*  Perhaps  ' '  since  death  is  at  nigh  hand. 
95 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Eteoc.  Thou  shalt  not  blunt  my  sharpened  edge  with 

words. 
Chor.  And  yet  God  loves  the  victory  that  submits.' 
Eteoc.  That  word  a  warrior  must  not  tolerate. 
Chr.  Dost  thou  then  haste  thy  brother's  blood  to 

shed  r 
Eteoc.  If  the  Gods  grant  it,  he  shall  not  'scape  harm. 
[^Exeunt  Eteocles,  Scout,  and  Captains 

Strophe  I 

Chor.   I  fear  her  might  who  doth  this  whole  house 
wreck. 

The  Goddess  unlike  Gods, 
The  prophetess  of  evil  all  too  true. 
The  Erinnys  of  thy  father's  imprecations,  "" 

Lest  she  fulfil  the  curse, 

O'er-wrathful,  frenzy-fraught. 

The  curse  of  CEdipus, 

Laying  his  children  low. 

This  Strife  doth  urge  them  on. 

Antistrophe  I 

And  now  a  stranger  doth  divide  the  lets, 
The  Chalyb,^  from  the  Skythians  emigrant, 
The  stern  distributor  of  heaped-up  wealth. 
The  iron  that  hath  assigned  them  just  so  much 

1  The  Chorus  means  that  if  Eteocles  would  allow  himself  to 
be  overcome  in  this  contest  of  his  wishes  with  their  prayers  the 
Gods  would  honour  that  defeat  as  if  it  were  indted  a  victory. 
He  makes  answer  that  the  very  thought  of  being  overcome  im- 
plied in  the  word  "defeat "  in  anything  is  one  which  the  true 
warrior  cannot  bear. 

2  The  "  Chalyb  stranger  "  is  the  sword,  thought  of  as  taking 
its  name  from  the  Skythian  tribe  of  the  Chalybes,  between 
Colchis  and  Armenia,  and  passing  through  the  Tbrakians  into 
Greece. 

96 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Of  land  as  theirs,  no  more, 

As  may  suffice  for  them 

As  grave  when  they  shall  fall. 

Without  or  part  or  lot 

In  the  broad-spreading  plains. 

Strophe  II 
And  when  the  hands  of  each 
The  other's  blood  have  shed, 
And  the  earth's  dust  shall  drink 
The  black  and  clotted  gore. 
Who  then  can  purify  f 
Who  cleanse  thee  from  the  guilt  ? 
Ah  me  !  O  sorrows  new, 
That  mingle  with  the  old  woes  of  our  house ! 

Antistrophe  II 
I  tell  the  ancient  tale 
Of  sin  that  brought  swift  doom  ; 
Till  the  third  age  it  waits. 
Since  Laios,  heeding  not 
Apollo's  oracle, 

(Though  spoken  thrice  to  him 
In  Pythia's  central  shrine,) 
That  dying  childless,  he  should  save  the  State. 

Strophe  III 
But  he  by  those  he  loved  full  rashly  swayed. 
Doom  for  himself  begat. 
His  murderer  CEdipus, 
Who  dared  to  sow  in  field 
Unholy,  whence  he  sprang, 
A  root  of  blood-flecked  woe. 
Madness  together  brought 
Bridegroom  and  bride  accursed 
«  97  • 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST   THEBES 

Antistrophe  III 

And  now  the  sea  of  evil  pours  its  flood  : 
This  falling,  others  rise, 
As  with  a  triple  crest, 
Which  round  the  State's  stern  roars: 
And  but  a  bulwark  slight, 
A  tower's  poor  breadth,  defends :  ^' 

And  lest  the  city  fall 
With  its  two  kings  I  fear. 

Stkophe  IV 

*And  that  atonement  of  the  ancient  curse 

Receives  fulfilment  now  ;  ^ 
*And  when  they  come,  the  evils  pass  not  by. 
E'en  so  the  wealth  of  sea-adventurers, 

When  heaped  up  in  excess. 

Leads  but  to  cargo  from  the  stern  thrown  out 

Antistrophe  IV 

For  whom  of  mortals  did  the  Gods  so  praise, 

And  fellow-worshippers,  "' 

*And  race  of  those  who  feed  their  flocks  and  herds 

As  much  as  then  they  honoured  CEdipus, 
Who  from  our  countr)''s  bounds 

Had  driven  the  monster,  murderess  of  men  ? 


1  The  two  brothers,  i.e.,  are  set  at  one  again,  but  it  is  not  in 
the  bonds  of  friendship,  but  in  those  of  death. 

*  The  image  meets  us  again  in  Agam.  980  Here  the  thought 
IS,  that  a  man  too  prosperous  is  like  a  ship  too  heavily  freighted. 
He  must  part  with  a  portion  of  his  possession  in  order  to  save 
the  rest.  Not  to  part  with  them  leads,  when  the  storm  rages, 
to  an  enforced  abandonment  and  utter  loss. 

'  Another  reading  gives — 

"And  race  of  ihose  who  crowd  the  Agora." 
98 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Strophe  V 

And  when  too  late  he  knew, 
Ah,  miserable  man  !   his  wedlock  dire, 

Vexed  sore  with  that  dread  shame, 

With  heart  to  madness  driven, 

He  wrought  a  two-fold  ill, 
And  with  the  hand  that  smote  his  father's  life  "" 

•Blinded  the  eyes  that  might  his  sons  have  seen. 

Antistrophe  V 

And  with  a  mind  provoked 
By  nurture  scant,  he  at  his  sons  did  hurl' 

His  curses  dire  and  dark, 

(Ah,  bitter  curses  those  !) 

That  they  with  spear  in  hand 
Should  one  day  share  their  father's  wealth ;  and  1 
Fear  now  lest  swift  Erinnys  should  fulfil  them. 

Enter  Messenger 
Mess.  Be  of  good  cheer,  ye  maidens,  mother-reared  ; 
Our  city  has  escaped  the  yoke  of  bondage,  '"^ 

The  boasts  of  mighty  men  are  fallen  low, 
And  this  our  city  in  calm  waters  floats. 
And,  though  by  waves  lashed,  springs  not  any  leak. 
Our  fortress  still  holds  out,  and  we  did  guard 
The  gates  with  champions  who  redeemed  their  pledge. 
In  the  six  gateways  almost  all  goes  well ; 
But  the  seventh  gate  did  King  Apollo  choose,' 

'  This  seems  to  have  been  one  form  of  the  legends  as  to  the 
cause  of  the  curse  which  CEdipus  had  launched  upon  his  sons, 
An  alternative  rendering  is — 

And  with  a  mind  enraged 
At  thought  of  what  they  were  whom  he  had  reared, 
He  at  his  sons  did  hurl 
His  curses  dire  and  dark. 
•  Se.,  when  Eteocles  fell,  Apollo  took  his  place  at  the  seventh 
gate,  and  turned  the  tide  o'  war  in  favour  ol  the  'I'hebans. 

99 


The  seven  against  thebes 

Seventh  mighty  chief,  avenging  Laios'  want 
Of  counsel  on  the  sons  of  CEdipus. 

Chor.  What  new  disaster  happens  to  our  city?'    *" 

A/^j/.  The  city's  saved,  but  both  the  royal  brothers,  .  .  . 

Ckor.  Who  ?  and  what  of  them  ?     I'm  distraught 
with  fear. 

Mess.  Be  calm,  and  hear  :  the  sons  of  CEdipus,  .... 

Chor.  Oh  wretched  me !  a  prophet  I  of  ill ! 

Mess.  Slain  by  each  other,  earth   has  drunk  their 
blood. 

Chor.  Came  they  to  that  ?  'Tis  dire  ;  yet  tell  it  me. 

Mess.  Too  true,  by  brother's  hand  our  chiefs  are  slain. 

Chor.  What,  did  the  brother's  hands  the  brother  lay  ? 

Mess.  No  doubt  is  there  that  they  are  laid  in  dust. 

Chor.  Thus  was  there  then  a  common  fate  for  both  ? 

Mess.  *Yea,  it  lays  low  the  whole  ill-fated  race. 

CI:or.  These  things  give  cause  for  gladness  and  for 
tears,  "" 

Seeing  that  our  city  prospers,  and  our  lords, 
The  generals  twain,  with  well-wrought  Skythian  steel, 
Have  shared  between  them  all  their  store  of  goods. 
And  now  shall  have  their  portion  in  a  grave. 
Borne  on,  as  spake  their  father's  grievous  curse.'' 

Mess.  [The  city's  saved,  but  of  the  brother-kings 
The  earth  has  drunk  the  blood,  each  slain  by  each.] 

Chor.  Great  Zeus !  and  ye,  O  Gods ! 
Guardians  of  this  our  town. 
Who  save  in  very  deed 
'  The  towers  of  Cadmos  old,  •* 


1  I  follow  in  this  dialogue  the  arrangement  which  Paley 
adopts  from  Hermann. 

2  There  seems  an  intentional  ambiguity.  They  are  "borne 
on,"  but  it  is  as  the  corpses  of  the  dead  are  borne  to  the 
sepulchre. 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Shall  I  rejoice  and  shout 

Over  the  happy  chance 

That  frees  our  State  from  harm ; 

Or  weep  that  ill-starred  pair, 
The  war-chiefs,  childless  and  most  miserable. 

Who,  true  to  that  ill  name 
Of  Polyneikes,  died  in  impious  mood, 

Contending  overmuch  ? 

Strophe 

Oh  dark,  and  all  too  true 
That  curse  of  CEdipus  and  all  his  race,* 
An  evil  chill  is  falling  on  my  heart,  ' 

And,  like  a  Thyiad  wild, 
Over  his  grave  I  sing  a  dirge  of  grief, 
Hearing  the  dead  have  died  by  evil  fate, 

Each  in  foul  bloodshed  steeped  ; 
Ah  me!     Ill-omened  is  the  spear's  accord.' 

Antistrophe 

It  hath  wrought  out  its  end, 
And  hath  not  failed,  that  prayer  the  father  poured ; 
And  Laios'  reckless  counsels  work  till  now : 

I  fear  me  for  the  State ; 
The  oracles  have  not  yet  lost  their  edge  ;  ' 

O  men  of  many  sorrows,  ye  have  wrought 

This  deed  incredible ; 


^  Not  here  the  curse  uttered  by  CEdipus,  but  that  which 
rested  on  him  and  all  his  kin.  There  is  possibly  an  allusion  to 
the  curse  which  Pelops  is  said  to  have  uttered  against  Laios 
when  he  stole  his  son  Chrysippos.     Comp.  v.  83>. 

2  As  in  V.  763  we  read  of  the  brothers  as  made  one  in  death, 
so  no^v  of  the  concord  which  is  wrought  out  by  conflict,  the 
concord,  i.e.,  of  the  gruve. 

101 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Not  now  in  word  come  woes  most  lamentable. 

[^s  the  Chorus  are  speaking,  the  bodies  o/'Eteocles 
and  PoLYNEiKES  are  brought  in  solemn  procession 
by  Theban  Citizens 

Epode 

Yea,  it  is  all  too  clear, 
The  herald's  tale  of  woe  comes  full  in  sight ; 
Twofold  our  cares,  twin  evils  born  of  pride. 

Murderous,  with  double  doom. 
Wrought  unto  full  completeness  all  these  ills. 

What  shall  I  say  ?     What  else 
Are  they  than  woes  that  make  this  house  their  home  ? 
But  oh !   my  friends,  ply,  ply  with  swift,  strong  gale,  • 
That  even  stroke  of  hands  upon  your  head,'  ^" 

In  funeral  order,  such  as  evermore 

O'er  Acheron  sends  on 
*That  bark  of  State,  dark-rigged,  accursed  its  voyage. 
Which  nor  Apollo  visits  nor  the  sun,* 

On  to  the  shore  unseen, 

The  resting-place  of  all. 
[IsMENE  and  Antigone    are   seen  approaching   in 

mourning  garments,  followed  by  a  procession  oj 

women  wailing  and  lamenting 
For  see,  they  come  to  bitter  deed  called  forth, 
Ismene  and  the  maid  Antigone, 

To  wail  their  brothers'  fall ; 

With  little  doubt  I  deem, 

•  The  Chorus  are  called  on  to  change  their  character,  and  to 
pass  from  the  attitude  of  suppliants,  with  outstretched  arms,  to 
that  of  mourners  at  a  funeral,  beating  on  their  breasts.  But, 
perhaps,  the  call  is  addressed  to  the  mourners  who  are  seen  ap- 
proaching with  Ismene  and  Antigone. 

2  The  thought  is  drawn  from  the  theoris  or  pilgrim-ship, 
which  went  with  snow-white  sails,  and  accompanied  by  joyful 
pceans,  on  a  solemn  mission  from  Athens  to  Delos.     In  contrast 

lOZ 


THE   SEVEN  AGAINST  THEBES 

That  they  will  pour  from  fond,  deep-bosomed  breasts 

A  worthy  strain  of  grief: 

But  it  is  meet  that  we, 

Before  we  hear  their  cry,  •*• 

Should  utter  the  harsh  hymn  Erinnys  loves, 

And  sing  to  Hades  dark 

The  Paean  of  distress. 

0  ye,  most  evil-fated  in  your  kin. 

Of  all  who  guard  their  robes  with  maiden's  band, 

1  weep  and  wail,  and  feigning  know  I  none, 

That  I  should  fail  to  speak 
My  sorrow  from  my  heart. 

Strophe  I 

Semi-Chor.  A.  Alas!  alas! 
Men  of  stern  mood,  who  would  not  list  to  friends. 

Unwearied  in  all  ills,  *™ 

Seizing  your  father's  house,  O  wretched  ones 
With  the  spear's  murderous  point. 
Semi-Chor.  'B.    Yea,  wretched   they  who  found   a 
wretched  doom. 
With  havoc  of  the  house. 

Antistrophe  I 

Semi-Chor.  A.  Alas!   alas! 
Ye  who  laid  low  the  ancient  walls  of  home. 

On  sovereignty,  ill  won, 
Your  eyes  have  looked,  and  ye  at  last  are  brought 

To  concord  by  the  sword. 


with  this  type  of  joy,  iEschylos  draws  the  picture  of  the  boat  of 
Charon,  which  parses  over  the  gloomy  pool  accompanied  by  the 
sighs  and  gestures  of  bitter  lamentation.  So,  in  the  old  Attic 
legend,  the  ship  that  annually  carried  seven  youths  and  maidens 
to  the  Minotaur  of  Crete  was  conspicuous  for  its  black  sails. 
»93 


THE   SEVEN  AGAINST  THEBES 

Semi-Chor.  B.  Yea,  of  a  truth,  the  curse  of  CEdipus  *** 
Erinnys  dread  fulfils. 

Strophe  II 
Semi-Chor.  A.  Yea,  smitten  through  the  heart, 
Smitten    through    sides  where    flowed    the   blood  of 
brothers. 
Ah  me  !  ye  doomed  of  God ! 
Ah  me  !  the  curses  dire 
Of  deaths  ye  met  with  each  at  other's  hands ! 

Semi-Chor.  B.  Thou  tell'st  of  men  death-smitten 
through  and  through. 
Both  in  their  homes  and  lives, 
With  wrath  beyond  all  speech,  *"" 

And  doom  of  discord  fell. 
That  sprang  from  out  the  curse  their  father  spake. 

Antistrophe  II 
Semi-Chor.  A.  Yea,  through  the  city  runs 
A  walling  cry.     The  high  towers  wail  aloud ; 
Wails  all  the  plain  that  loves  her  heroes  well ; 
And  to  their  children's  sons 
The  wealth  will  go  for  which 
The  strife  of  those  ill-starred  ones  brought  forth  death. 
Semi-C/:or.  B.   Quick  to  resent,  they  shared  their 
fortune  so, 
That  each  like  portion  won  ; 
*Nor  can  their  friends  regard 
Their  umpire  without  blame  ;  *"° 

Nor  is  our  voice  in  thanks  to  Ares  raised. 

Strophe  III 

Semi-Chor.  A.  By  the  sword  smitten  low, 
Thus  are  they  now  ; 
By  the  sword  smitten  low, 
104 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

There  wait  them  .  .  .  Nay, 

Doth  one  perchance  ask  what  ? 
Shares  in  their  old  ancestral  sepulchres. 

Semi-Cbor.  B.  *The  sorrow  of  the  house  is  borne 
to  them 

By  my  heart-rending  wail. 

Mine  own  the  cries  I  pour ; 

Mine  own  the  woes  I  weep. 
Bitter  and  joyless,  shedding  truest  tears  "" 

From  heart  that  faileth,  even  as  they  fall. 

For  these  two  kingly  chiefs. 

Antistrophe  III 
Semi-Chor.  A.  Yes ;  one  may  say  of  them, 
That  wretched  pair. 
That  they  much  ill  have  wrought 
To  their  own  host ; 
Yea,  and  to  alien  ranks 
Of  many  nations  fallen  in  the  fray. 

Semi-Chor.  B.  Ah !  miserable  she  who  bare  those 
twain, 
'Bove  all  of  women  born 
Who  boast  a  mother's  name !  •* 

Taking  her  son,  her  own. 
As  spouse,  she  bare  these  children,  and  they 
both. 
By  mutual  slaughter  and  by  brothers'  hands. 
Have  found  their  end  in  death. 

Strophe  IV 
Semi-Chr.  A.  Yes ;  of  the  same  womb  born,  and 
doomed  both, 
*Not  as  friends  part,  they  fell, 
In  strife  to  madness  pushed 
In  this  their  quarrel's  end. 

lOJ 


THE   SEVEN  AGAINST  THEBES 

Semi-Chor.  B.  The  quarrel  now  is  hushed, 
And  in  the  ensanguined  earth  their  lives  are  blent ;   '*• 

Full  near  in  blood  are  they. 

Stern  umpire  of  their  strifes 
Has  been  the  stranger  from  beyond  the  sea,* 
Fresh  from  the  furnace,  keen  and  sharpened  steel. 

Stern,  too,  is  Ares  found, 

Distributing  their  goods. 
Making  their  father's  curses  all  too  true. 

Antistrophe  IV 

Semi-Chor.  A.   At  last  they  have  their  share,  ah, 
wretched  ones ! 
Of  burdens  sent  from  God.  "^^ 

And  now  beneath  them  lies 

A  boundless  wealth  of earth. 

Semi-Chor.  B.  O  ye.  who  your  own  race 
Have  made  to  burgeon  out  with  many  woes ! 
Over  the  end  at  last 
The  brood  of  Curses  raise 
Their  shrill,  sharp  cry  of  lamentation  loud, 
The  race  being  put  to  flight  of  utmost  rout, 
And  Ate's  trophy  stands. 
Where  in  the  gates  they  fell ; 
And  Fate,  now  both  are  conquered,  rests  at  last.        ^^ 

Enter  Antigone  and  \%u^ky.,  followed  by  mourning 
maidens  * 

Ant.  Thou  wast  smitten,  and  thou  smotest. 

Ism.  Thou  did'st  slaughter,  and  wast  slaughtered. 

1  The   "  Chalyb,"  or  iron   sword,    which   the  Hellenes  had 
imported  from  the  Skythians.     Comp.  vv.  70.  86. 

2  The  lyrical,  operative  character  of  Greek  tragedies  has  to  be 
borne  in  mind  as  we  read  passages  like  that  which  follows.   They 

iq6 


THE   SEVEN  AGAINST  THEBES 

Ant.  Thou  with  spear  to  death  did'st  smite  him. 
Ism.  Thou  with  spear  to  death  wast  smitten. 
Ant.  Oh,  the  woe  of  all  your  labours ! 
Ism.  Oh,  the  woe  of  all  ye  suffered  ! 
Ant.  Pour  the  cry  of  lamentation. 
Ism.  Pour  the  tears  of  bitter  weeping. 
Ant.  There  in  death  thou  liest  prostrate. 
Ism.  Having  wrought  a  great  destruction. 

Strophe 

Ant.  Ah !  my  mind  is  crazed  with  wailing. 
Ism.  Yea,  my  heart  within  me  groaneth. 
Ant.  Thou  for  whom  the  city  weepeth  ! 
Ism.  Thou  too,  doomed  to  all  ill-fortune ! 
Ant.  By  a  loved  hand  thou  hast  perished. 
Ism.  And  a  loved  form  thou  hast  slaughtered. 
Ant.  Double  woes  are  ours  to  tell  of 
Ism.  Double  woes  too  ours  to  look  on. 
Ant.  *Twofold  sorrows  from  near  kindred. 
Ism.  *Sisters  we  by  brothers  standing. 
Ant.  Terrible  are  they  to  tell  of 
Ism.  Terrible  are  they  to  look  on. 
Chor.  Ah  me,  thou  Destiny, 
Giver  of  evil  gifts,  and  working  woe, 


were  not  meant  to  be  read.  Uttered  in  a  passionate  recitative, 
accompanied  by  expressive  action,  they  probably  formed  a  very 
effective  element  in  the  actual  representation  ot  the  tragedy.  We 
may  look  on  it  as  the  only  extant  specimen  of  the  kind  of  wail- 
ing which  was  characteristic  of  Eastern  burials,  and  which  was 
slowly  passing  away  in  Greece  under  the  influence  of  a  higher 
culture.  The  early  fondness  of  ^schylos  for  a  finale  of  this 
nature  is  seen  also  in  The  Persians,  and  in  a  more  solemn  and 
subdued  form,  in  the  Eumenides.  The  feeling  that  there  was 
something  barbaric  in  these  untoward  displays  of  grief,  showed 
itself  alike  in  the  legislation  of  Solnn,  and  the  eloquence  of 
Pericles. 

107 


THE    SEVEN  AGAINST  THEBES 

And  thou  dread  spectral  form  of  CEdipus, 
And  swarth  Erinnys  too, 
A  mighty  one  art  thou. 

Antistrophe 

Ant.  Ah  me  !  ah  me  !  woes  dread  to  look  on    . 

Ism.  Ye  showed  to  me,  returned  from  exile. 

Ant.  Not,  when  he  had  slain,  returned  he. 

hm.  Nay,  he,  saved  from  exile,  perished. 

Ant.  Yea,  I  trow  too  well,  he  perished. 

Ism.  And  his  brother,  too,  he  murdered. 

Ant.  Woeful,  piteous,  are  those  brothers ! 

Ism.  Woeful,  piteous,  all  they  suffered  ! 

Ant.  Woes  of  kindred  wrath  enkindling ! 

Ism.  Saturate  with  threefold  horrors ! 

Ant.  Terrible  are  they  to  tell  of 

Ism.  Terrible  are  they  to  look  on. 

Chor.  Ah  me,  thou  Destiny, 
Giver  of  evil  gifts,  and  stern  of  soul. 
And  thou  dread  spectral  form  of  CEdipus, 
And  swarth  Erinnys  too, 
A  mighty  one  art  thou. 

Epode 

Ant.  Thou,  then,  by  foil  trial  knowest  .  .  . 
Ism.  Thou,  too,  no  whit  later  learning.  .  .  . 
Am.  When  thou  cam'st  back  to  this  city.'  .  . 
Ism.  Rival  to  our  chief  in  warfare. 
Ant.  Woe,  alas !  for  all  our  troubles ! 
Ism.  Woe,  alas  !  for  all  our  evils  ! 
Ant.  Evils  fallen  on  our  houses ! 


Here,  and  perhaps  throughout,  we  must  think  of  Antigone 
as  addressing  and  looking  on  the  corpse  of  Polyneikes,  Ismene 
on  that  of  Eteocles. 

108 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Ism.  Evils  fallen  on  our  country  ! 
Ant.  And  on  me  before  all  others.  .  .  . 

Ism.  And  to  me  the  future  waiting.  ...  '*'" 

Ant.  Woe  for  those  two  brothers  luckless ! 
Ism.  King  Eteocles,  our  leader  ! 
Ant.  Oh,  before  all  others  wretched  ! 
Ism.  ..... 

Ant.  Ah,  by  Ati  frenzy-stricken  ! 
Ism.  Ah,  where  now  shall  they  be  buried  ? 
Ant.  There  where  grave  is  highest  honour. 
Ism.  Ah,  the  woe  my  father  wedded  ! 

Enter  a  Herald 

Her.  'Tis    mine    the  judgment    and    decrees    to 
publish 
Of  this  Cadmeian  city's  counsellors : 
It  is  decreed  Eteocles  to  honour, 

For  his  goodwill  towards  this  land  of  ours,  """ 

With  seemly  burial,  such  as  friend  may  claim  ; 
For  warding  off  our  foes  he  courted  death  ; 
Pure  as  regards  his  country's  holy  things. 
Blameless  he  died  where  death  the  young  beseems  ; 
This  then  I'm  ordered  to  proclaim  of  him. 
But  for  his  brother's,  Polyneikes'  corpse. 
To  cast  it  out  unburied,  prey  for  dogs. 
As  working  havoc  on  Cadmeian  land. 
Unless  some  God  had  hindered  by  the  spear 
Of  this  our  prince  ;^  and  he,  though,  dead,  shall  gain  '"* 
The  curse  of  all  his  father's  Gods,  whom  he 

[Pointing  to  Polyneikes 
With  alien  host  dishonouring,  sought  to  take 
Our  city.     Him  by  ravenous  birds  interred 

'  Perhaps 

"  Unless  some  God  had  stood  against  the  spear 
This  chief  did  wield. " 

109 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Inglorlously,  they  sentence  to  receive 

His  full  deserts  ;  and  none  may  take  in  hand 

To  heap  up  there  a  tomb,  nor  honour  him 

With  shrill-voiced  wailings ;  but  he  still  must  He, 

Without  the  meed  of  burial  by  his  friends. 

So  do  the  high  Cadmeian  powers  decree. 

Ant.  And  I  those  rulers  of  Cadmeians  tell,'  ^°*' 

That  if  no  other  care  to  bury  him, 
I  will  inter  him,  facing  all  the  risk. 
Burying  my  brother  :  nor  am  I  ashamed 
To  thwart  the  State  in  rank  disloyalty  ; 
Strange  power  there  is  in  ties  of  blood,  that  we, 
Born  of  woe-laden  mother,  sire  ill-starred, 
Are  bound  by  :  therefore  of  thy  full  free-will, 
Share  thou,  my  soul,  in  woes  he  did  not  will, 
Thou  living,  he  being  dead,  with  sister's  heart. 
And  this  I  say,  no  wolves  with  ravening  maw. 
Shall  tear  his  flesh — No  !  no  !  let  none  think  that  ! 
For  tomb  and  burial  I  will  scheme  for  him,  ^"^^ 

Though  I  be  but  weak  woman,  bringing  earth 
Within  my  byssine  raiment's  fold,  and  so 
Myself  will  bury  him  ;  let  no  man  think 
(I  say't  again)  aught  else.     Take  heart,  my  soul ! 
There  shall  not  fail  the  means  effectual. 

Her.   I  bid  thee  not  defy  the  State  in  this. 

Ant.  I  bid  thee  not  proclaim  vain  words  to  me. 

Her.  Stern  is  the  people  now,  with  victory  flushed. 

Ant.  Stern  let  them  be,  he  shall  not  tombless  lie. 

Her.  And  wilt  thou  honour  whom  the  State  doth 
loathe  \ 

1  The  speech  of  the  Antigone  becomes  the  starting-point,  in 
the  hands  of  Sophocles,  of  the  noblest  of  his  tragedies.  Ihe 
denial  of  burial,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  looked  on  as  not 
merely  an  indignity  and  outrage  against  the  feelings  of  the 
living,  but  as  depriving  the  souls  of  the  dead  of  all  rest  and 
peace.  As  such  it  was  the  punishment  of  parricides  and  traitors. 
no 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

Ant.  *Yea,    from    the   Gods  he    gets    an    honour 
due.*  1050 

Her.  It  was  not  so  till  he  this  land  attacked. 

Ant.  He,  suffering  evil,  evil  would  repay. 

Her.  Not  against  one  his  arms  were  turned,  but  all. 

Ant.  Strife  is  the  last  of  Gods  to  end  disputes  : 
Him  I  will  bury  ;  talk  no  more  of  it. 

Her.  Choose  for  thyself  then,  I  forbid  the  deed. 

Chor.  Alas !  alas  !  alas ! 

Ye  haughty  boasters,  race-destroying. 

Now  Fates  and  now  Erinnyes,  smiting 

The  sons  of  CEdipus,  ye  slew  them, 

With  a  root-and-branch  destruction.  *"*' 

What  shall  I  then  do,  what  suffer  ? 

What  shall  I  devise  in  counsel  ? 

How  should  I  dare  nor  to  weep  thee. 

Nor  escort  thee  to  the  burial  ? 

But  I  tremble  and  I  shrink  from 

All  the  terrors  which  they  threatened. 

They  who  are  my  fellow-townsmen. 

Many  mourners   thou   {looking  to  the  bier  oj 

Eteocles)  shalt  meet  with  ; 
But  he,  lost  one,  unlamented, 
With  his  sister's  wailing  only 
Passeth.     Who  with  this  complieth  ? 

Setni-Chor.  A.  Let  the  city  doom  or  not  doom 
Those  who  weep  for  Polyneikes ; 


^  The  words  are  obscure  enough,  the  point  lying,  it  may  be, 
in  their  ambiguity.  Antigone  here,  as  in  the  tragedy  of 
Sophocles,  pleads  that  the  Gods  have  pardoned  ;  they  still  com- 
mnnd  and  love  the  reverence  for  the  dead,  which  she  is  about  to 
show.  The  herald  catches  up  her  words  and  takes  them  in 
another  sense,  as  though  all  the  honour  he  had  met  with  from 
the  Gods  had  been  defeat,  and  death,  and  shame,  as  the  reward 
of  his  sacrilege.     Another  rendering,  however,  gives — 

"Yes,  so  the  Gods  have  done  wiib  honouring  him." 
Ill 


THE   SEVEN   AGAINST  THEBES 

We  will  go,  and  we  will  bury,  ^""^ 

Maidens  we  in  sad  procession  ; 
For  the  woe  to  all  is  common, 
And  our  State  with  voice  uncertain. 
Of  the  claims  of  Right  and  Justice  ; 
Hither,  thither,  shifts  its  praises. 
Semi-Chr.  'B.  We  will  thus,  our  chief  attending^ 
Speak,  as  speaks  the  State,  our  praises  : 
Of  the  claims  of  Right  and  Justice  ;^ 
For  next  those  the  Blessed  Rulers, 
And  the  strength  of  Zeus,  he  chiefly 
Saved  the  city  of  Cadmeians 
From  the  doom  of  fell  destruction. 
From  the  doom  of  whelming  utter, 
In  the  flood  of  alien  warriors. 

[Exeunt  Antigone  ami  Sewi-Chorus  A.,  fol- 
lowing the  corpse  of  Polyneikes  ;  Ismenb 
and  Semi-Chorus  B.  that  o/"Eteocles. 

•  The  words  are  probably  a  protest  against  the  changeable 
ness  of  the  Athenian  demos,  as  seen  especially  in  their  treatment 
3f  Aristeides. 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

DRAMATIS   PERSONiE 

Prometheus  Hermes 

Okeanos  Strength 

HEPHiESTOs  Force 

Chorus  of  Ocean  Nymphs 

ARGUMENT. — In  the  old  time,  when  Cronos  was 
sovereign  of  the  Gods,  Zeus,  whom  he  had  begotten,  rose 
up  against  him,  and  the  Gods  were  divided  in  their  coun- 
sels, some,  the  Titans  chiefly,  siding  with  the  father,  and 
some  with  the  son.  And  Prometheus,  the  son  of  Earth  or 
Themis,  though  one  of  the  Titans,  supported  Zeus,  as  did 
also  Okeanos,  and  by  his  counsels  Zeus  obtained  the 
victory,  and  Cronos  was  chained  in  Tartaros,  and  the 
Titans  buried  under  mountains,  or  kept  in  bonds  in 
Hades.  And  then  Prometheus,  seeing  the  miseries  of  the 
race  of  men,  of  whom  Zeus  took  little  heed,  stole  the  fire 
which  till  then  had  belonged  to  none  but  Hephastos  and 
was  used  only  for  the  Gods,  and  gave  it  to  mankind,  and 
taught  them  many  arts  whereby  their  wretchedness  was 
lessened.  But  Zeus  being  wroth  with  Prometheus  for 
this  deed,  sent  Hephastos,  with  his  two  helpers.  Strength 
and  Force,  to  fetter  him  to  a  rock  on  Caucasos. 

A  nd  in  yet  another  story  was  the  cruelty  of  the  Gods 
made  known.  For  Zeus  loved  lo,  the  daughter  of  Inachos, 

I  113  H 


PROMETHEUS  BOUND 

king  of  Argos,  and  she  was  haunted  by  visions  of  the 
night,  telHfig  her  of  his  passion,  and  she  told  her  father 
thereof.  And  Inachos,  sending  to  the  God  at  Delphi, 
was  told  to  drive  lo  forth  from  her  home.  A  nd  Zeus 
gave  her  the  horns  of  a  cow,  and  Hera,  who  hated  her 
because  she  was  dear  to  Zeus,  sent  with  her  a  gadfly  that 
stung  her,  and  gave  her  no  rest,  and  drove  her  over  many 
lands. 

Note. — The  play  is  believed  to  have  been  the  second  of  a 
Trilogy,  of  which  the  first  was  Prometheus  the  Fire-giver,  and 
the  third  Prometheus  Unbound, 


»W 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

SctNC. — Skythia,  on  the  heights  of  Caucatot.     The  Euxitu 
teen  in  the  dixtance 

Enter  Heph^stos,  Strength,  anti  Force,  leading 
Prometheus  in  chains^ 

Strength.  Lo  !  to  a  plain,  earth's  boundary  remote 
We  now  are  come, — the  tract  as  Skythian  known, 
A  desert  inaccessible  :  and  now, 
Hephaestos,  it  is  thine  to  do  the  hests 
The  Father  gave  thee,  to  these  lofty  crags 
To  bind  this  crafty  trickster  fast  in  chains 
Of  adamantine  bonds  that  none  can  break  ; 
For  he  thy  choice  flower  stealing,  the  bright  glory 
Of  fire  that  all  arts  spring  from,  hath  bestowed  it 
On  mortal  men.     And  so  for  fault  like  this 
He  now  must  pay  the  Gods  due  penalty, 
That  he  may  learn  to  bear  the  sovereign  rule  " 

Of  Zeus,  and  cease  from  his  philanthropy. 

Heph.  O  Strength,  and  thou,  O  Force,  the  hest  of 
Zeus, 

*  The  scene  seems  at  first  an  exception  to  the  early  conven- 
tional rule,  which  forbade  the  introduction  of  a  third  actor  on  the 
Greek  stage.  But  it  has  been  noticed  that  (i)  Force  does  not 
speak,  and  (2)  Prometheus  does  not  speak  till  Strength  and 
Force  have  retired,  and  that  it  is  therefore  probable  that  the 
whole  work  of  nailing  is  done  on  a  lay  figure  or  effigy  of  some 
kind,  and  that  one  of  the  two  who  had  before  taken  part  in  the 
dialogue  then  speaks  behind  it  in  the  character  of  Prometheus 
So  the  same  actor  must  have  appeared  in  succession  as  Okeanos 
lo,  and  Hermes. 

"5 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

As  far  as  touches  you,  attains  its  end, 

And  nothing  hinders.     Yet  my  courage  fail? 

To  bind  a  God  of  mine  own  kin  by  force 

To  this  bare  rock  where  tempests  wildly  sweep  ; 

And  yet  I  needs  must  muster  courage  for  it  : 

'Tis  no  slight  thing  the  Father's  words  to  scorn. 

0  thou  of  Themis  [to  Prometheus]  wise  in  counsel 

son, 
Full  deep  of  purpose,  lo  !  against  my  will,* 

1  fetter  thee  against  thy  will  with  bonds 

Of  bronze  that  none  can  loose,  to  this  lone  height,     *' 

Where  thou  shalt  know  nor  voice  nor  face  of  man, 

But  scorching  in  the  hot  blaze  of  the  sun, 

Shalt  lose  thy  skin's  fair  beauty.     Thou  shalt  long 

For  starry-mantled  night  to  hide  day's  sheen. 

For  sun  to  melt  the  rime  of  early  dawn  ; 

And  evermore  the  weight  of  present  ill 

Shall  wear  thee  down.     Unborn  .is  yet  is  he 

Who  shall  release  thee  :  this  the  fate  thou  gain'st 

As  due  reward  for  thy  philanthropy. 

For  thou,  a  God  not  fearing  wrath  of  Gods, 

In  thy  transgression  gav'st  their  power  to  men  ;  ^ 

And  therefore  on  this  rock  of  little  ease 

Thou  still  shalt  keep  thy  watch,  nor  lying  down, 

Nor  knowing  sleep,  nor  ever  bending  knee  ; 

And  many  groans  and  wailings  profitless 

Thy  lips  shall  utter  ;  for  the  mind  of  Zeuj 

1  Prometheus  (Forethought)  is  the  son  of  Themis  [Right)  the 
second  occupanc  of  the  Pythian  Oracle  (Eumen.  v.  2).  His 
sympathy  with  man  leads  him  to  impart  the  gift  which  raised 
them  out  of  savage  animal  life,  and  for  this  Zeus,  who 
app>ears  throughout  the  play  as  a  hard  taskmaster,  sentences 
him  to  fetters.  H  ;phaestos,  from  wt)om  this  fire  had  been  stolen, 
has  a  touch  of  pity  for  hitn.  Strength,  who  comes  as  the  servant, 
not  of  Hephsestos,  but  of  Zeus  himself,  acts,  as  such,  with 
merciless  cruelty. 

u6 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Remains  inexorable.     Who  holds  a  power 
But  newly  gained^  is  ever  stern  of  mood. 

Strength.  Let  be  !      Why  linger  in  this  idle  pity  ? 
Why  dost  not  hate  a  God  to  Gods  a  foe, 
Who  gave  thy  choicest  prize  to  mortal  men  r 

Heph.  Strange  is  the  power  of  kin  and  intercourse.' 
Strength.  I    own    it  ;    yet    to    slight    the    Father's 
words,  ^^ 

How  may  that  be  ?     Is  not  that  fear  the  worse  r 
Heph.  Still  art  thou  ruthless,  full  of  savagery. 
Strength.  There  is  no  help  in  w-eeping  over  him  : 
Spend  not  thy  toil  on  things  that  profit  not. 
Heph.  O  handicraft  to  me  intolerable  ! 
Strength.  Why    loath'st   thou    it  ?     Of   these    thy 
present  griefs 
That  craft  of  thine  is  not  one  whit  the  cause. 

Heph.  And  yet  I  would  some  other  had  that  skill. 
Strength.   *A11  things  bring  toil  except  for  Gods  to 
reign  ;» 
For  none  but  Zeus  can  boast  of  freedom  true.  *" 

Heph.  Too  well  I  see  the  proof,  and  gainsay  not. 
Strength.   Wilt  thou  not  speed  to  fix  the  chains  on 
him, 
Lest  He,  the  Father,  see  thee  loitering  here  ? 

Heph.  Well,   here   the  handcuffs  thou    may'st   sec 

prepared. 
Strength.  In  thine  hands  take  him.     Then  with  all 
thy  might 
Strike  with  thine  hammer  ;  nail  him  to  the  rocks. 
Heph.  The  work  goes  on,  I  ween,  and  not  in  vain. 

1  The  generalised  statement  refers  to  Zeus,   as    having   but 
recently  exp>elled  Cronos  from  his  throne  in  Heaven. 

2  Hephsestos,  as  the  great  fire-worker,  had  taught  Prometheus 
to  use  the  fire  which  he  afterwards  bestowed  on  men, 

'  Feihaps,  "All  might  is  ours  except  o'er  Gods  to  rule." 
"7 


PROMETHEUS  BOUND 

Strength.  Strike  harder,  rivet,  give  no  whit  of  ease : 
A  wondrous  knack  has  he  to  find  resource. 
Even  where  all  might  seem  to  baffle  him. 

Hepk.  Lo  !  this  his  arm  is  fixed  inextricably.  *" 

Strength.  Now  rivet  thou  this  other  fast,  that  he 
May  learn,  though  sharp,  that  he  than  Zeus  is  duller. 

Heph.  No  one  but  he  could  justly  blame  my  work. 

Strength.  Now  drive  the  stern  jaw  of  the  adamant 
wedge 
Right  through  his  chest  with  all  the  strength  thou  hast. 

Heph.  Ah  me  !  Prometheus,  for  thy  woes  I  groan. 

Strength.  Again,  thou'rt  loth,  and  for  the  foes  of  Zeus 
Thou  groanest :  take  good  heed  to  it  lest  thou 
Ere  long  with  cause  thyself  commiserate. 

Heph.  Thou  see'st  a  sight  unsightly  to  our  eyes. 

Strength.  I  see  this  man  obtaining  his  deserts :        " 
Nay,  cast  thy  breast-chains  round  about  his  ribs. 

Heph.  I  must  needs  do  it.     Spare  thine  o'er  much 
bidding ; 
Go  thou  below  and  rivet  both  his  legs.' 

Strength.  Nay,  I  will  bid  thee,  urge  thee  to  thy  work. 

Heph.  There,  it  is  done,  and  that  with  no  long  toil. 

Strength.  Now  with  thy  full  power  fix  the  galling 
fetters : 
Thou  hast  a  stern  o'erlooker  of  thy  work. 

Heph.  Thy  tongue  but  utters  words  that  match  thy 
form.'' 

Strength.  Choose    thou    the    melting    mood ;    but 
chide  not  me 
For  my  self-will  and  wrath  and  ruthlessness.  *• 

'  The  words  indicate  that   the  effigy   of  Prometheus,  now 
nailed  to  the  rock,  was,  as  being  that  of  a  Titan,  of  colossal  size. 

2  The  touch  is  characteristic  as  showing  that  here,  as  in  the 
Eutnenides,  iEschylos  relied  on  the  horribleness  of  the  masks, 
as  part  of  the  machinery  of  his  plays. 
ii8 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Heph.  Now  let  us  go,  his  limbs  are  bound  in  chains. 
Strength.  Here  then  wax  proud,  and  stealing  what 
belongs 
To  the  Gods,  to  mortals  give  it.     What  can  they 
Avail  to  rescue  thee  from  these  thy  woes  ? 
Falsely  the  Gods  have  given  thee  thy  name, 
Prometheus,  Forethought ;  forethought  thou  dost 

need 
To  free  thyself  from  this  rare  handiwork. 

[£x^a»/HEPH.T;sTos,  Strength,  <7WFoRCR, 
leaving  Prometheus  on  the  rock 
Prom}  Thou  firmament  of  God,  and  swift-winged 
winds, 
Ye  springs  of  rivers,  and  of  ocean  waves 
That  smile  innumerous  !     Mother  of  us  all,  *" 

0  Earth,  and  Sun's  all-seeing  eye,  behold, 

1  pray,  what  I  a  God  from  Gods  endure. 

Behold  in  what  foul  case 

I  for  ten  thousand  years 

Shall  struggle  in  my  woe. 

In  these  unseemly  chains. 
Such  doom  the  new-made  Monarch  of  the  Blest 

Hath  now  devised  for  me. 
Woe,  woe !     The  present  and  the  oncoming  pang 

I  wail,  as  I  search  out 
The  place  and  hour  when  end  of  all  these  ills 

Shall  dawn  on  me  at  last.  "* 

What  say  I  \     All  too  clearly  I  foresee 
The  things  that  come,  and  nought  of  pain  shall  be 


'  The  silence  of  Prometheus  up  to  this  point  was  partly,  as 
has  been  said,  consequent  on  the  conventional  laws  of  the  Greek 
drama,  but  it  is  also  a  touch  of  supreme  insight  into  the  heroic 
temper.  In  the  presence  of  his  torturers,  the  Titan  will  not 
utter  even  a  groan.  When  they  are  gone,  he  appeals  to  the 
sympathy  of  Nature. 

ti9 


PROMETHEUS  BOUND 

By  me  unlooked-for ;  but  I  needs  must  bear 

My  destiny  as  best  I  may,  knowing  well 

The  might  resistless  of  Necessity. 

And  neither  may  I  speak  of  this  my  fate, 

Nor  hold  my  peace.     For  I,  poor  I,  through  giving 

Great  gifts  to  mortal  men,  am  prisoner  made 

In  these  fast  fetters ;  yea,  in  fennel  stalk  ^ 

I  snatched  the  hidden  spring  of  stolen  fire, 

Which  is  to  men  a  teacher  of  all  arts,  ' 

Their  chief  resource.     And  now  this  penalty 

Of  that  offence  I  pay,  fast  riveted 

In  chains  beneath  the  open  firmament. 

Ha  !  ha  !     What  now  ? 
What  sound,  what  odour  floats  invisibly  ? ' 
Is  it  of  God  or  man,  or  blending  both  ? 
And  has  one  come  to  this  remotest  rock 
To  look  upon  my  woes  ?     Or  what  wills  he  ? 
Behold  me  bound,  a  God  to  evil  doomed. 

The  foe  of  Zeus,  and  held 

In  hatred  by  all  Gods 

Who  tread  the  courts  of  Zeus : 

And  this  for  my  great  love. 


'  The  legend  is  from  Hesiod  ( Theogon. ,  v.  567).  The  fennel, 
or  narthex,  seems  to  have  been  a  large  umbelliferous  plant, 
with  a  large  stem  filled  with  a  sort  of  pith,  which  was  used 
when  dry  as  tinder.  Stalks  were  carried  as  wands  (the  thyrsi) 
by  the  men  and  women  who  joined  in  Bacchanalian  processions. 
In  modern  botany,  the  name  is  given  to  the  plant  which  pro- 
duces Asafoetida,  and  the  stem  of  which,  from  its  resinous 
character,  would  burn  freely,  and  so  connect  itself  with  the 
Promethean  myth.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Narthex  Asafoetida 
is  found  at  present  only  in  Persia,  Afghanistan,  and  the 
Punjaub. 

2  The  ocean  nymphs,   like    other    divine   ones,    would    be 
anointed   with   ambrosial   unguents,  and  the  odour  would  be 
wafted  before  them  by  the  rustling  of  their  wings.     This  too  we 
may  think  of  as  part  of  the  "stage  efiects  "  of  the  play. 
izo 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Too  great,  for  mortal  men. 
Ah  me  !  what  rustling  sounds 
Hear  I  of  birds  not  far  ? 
With  the  light  whirr  of  wings 
The  air  re-echoeth : 
All  that  draws  nigh  to  me  is  cause  of  feaj;.' 

Enter  Chorus  of  Ocean  Nymphs,  with  wings, 
fioating  in  the  air  * 

Chor.  Nay,  fear  thou  nought :  in  love 

All  our  array  of  wings 

In  eager  race  hath  come  "° 

To  this  high  peak,  full  hardly  gaining  o'er 

Our  Father's  mind  and  will ; 
And  the  swift-rushing  breezes  bore  me  on  : 
For  lo !   the  echoing  sound  of  blows  on  iron 
Pierced  to  our  cave's  recess,  and  put  to  flight 

My  shamefast  modesty. 
And  I  in  unshod  haste,  on  winged  car, 

To  thee  rushed  hitherward. 
Prom.         Ah  me  !  ah  me  ! 
Offspring  of  Tethys  blest  with  many  a  child,  "° 

Daughters  of  Old  Okeanos  that  rolls 
Round  all  the  earth  with  never-sleeping  stream. 

Behold  ye  me,  and  see 

With  what  chains  fettered  fast, 
I  on  the  topmost  crags  of  this  ravine 
Shall  keep  my  sentry-post  unenviable. 

'  The  words  are  not  those  of  a  vague  terror  only.  The 
sufferer  knows  that  his  tormentor  is  to  come  to  him  before  long 
on  wings,  and  therefore  the  sound  as  of  the  flight  of  birds  is  full 
of  terrors. 

3  By  the  same  stage  mechani-m  the  Chorus  remains  in  the 
air  till  verse  380.  when,  at  the  request  of  Prometheus,  they 
alight. 

Ill 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Chor.  I  see  it,  O  Prometheus,  and  a  mist 
Of  fear  and  full  of  tears  comes  o'er  mine  eyes, 

Thy  frame  beholding  thus. 

Writhing  on  these  high  rocks  "" 

In  adamantine  ills. 
New  pilots  now  o'er  "high  Olympos  rule, 

And  with  new-fashioned  laws 

Zeus  reigns,  down-trampling  right. 
And  all  the  ancient  powers  He  sweeps  away. 

Prom,    Ah !    would  that  'neath  the  Earth,  'neath 
Hades  too, 
Home  of  the  dead,  far  down  to  Tartaros  '*• 

Unfathomable  He  in  fetters  fast 

In  wrath  had  hurled  me  down : 

So  neither  had  a  God 
Nor  any  other  mocked  at  these  my  woes ; 
But  now,  the  wretched  plaything  of  the  winds, 
I  suffer  ills  at  which  my  foes  rejoice. 
Chor.  Nay,  which  of  all  the  Gods 
Is  so  hard-hearted  as  to  joy  in  this  ? 
Who,  Zeus  excepted,  doth  not  pity  thee 

In  these  thine  ills  ?     But  He, 

Ruthless,  with  soul  unbent. 
Subdues  the  heavenly  host,  nor  will  He  cease'  *'" 

Until  his  heart  be  satiate  with  power, 
Or  some  one  seize  with  subtle  stratagem 
The  sovran  might  that  so  resistless  seemed. 

Prom.  Nay,  of  a  truth,  though  put  to  evil  shame. 


'  Here,  as  throughout  the  play,  the  poet  puts  into  the  mouth 
of  his  dramatis  persona  words  which  must  have  seemed  to  the 
devouter  Athenians  sacrilegious  enough  to  call  for  an  indictment 
before  the  Areiopagos.  But  the  final  play  of  the  Trilogy  came, 
we  may  believe,  as  the  Eumenides  did  in  its  turn,  as  a  reconcilia- 
tion of  the  conflicting  thoughts  that  rise  in  men's  minds  out  of 
the  seeming  anomalies  of  the  world. 
IZ2 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

In  massive  fetters  bound, 

The  Ruler  of  the  Gods 
Shall  yet  have  need  of  me,  yes,  e'en  of  me, 

To  tell  the  counsel  new 

That  seeks  to  strip  from  him 
His  sceptre  and  his  might  of  sovereignty. 

In  vain  will  He  with  words 

Or  suasion's  honeyed  charms 

Soothe  me,  nor  will  I  tell 

Through  fear  of  his  stern  threats, 

Ere  He  shall  set  me  free 

From  these  my  bonds,  and  make, 

Of  his  own  choice,  amends 

For  all  these  outrages. 
Chor.  Full  rash  art  thou,  and  yield'st 
In  not  a  jot  to  bitterest  form  of  woe  ; 
Thou  art  o'er-free  and  reckless  in  thy  speech  : 

But  piercing  fear  hath  stirred 

My  inmost  soul  to  strife  ; 
For  I  fear  greatly  touching  thy  distress. 
As  to  what  haven  of  these  woes  of  thine 
Thou  now  must  steer  :  the  son  of  Cronos  hath 

A  stubborn  mood  and  heart  inexorable. 
Prom.  I  know  that  Zeus  is  hard. 
And  keeps  the  Right  supremely  to  himself; 

But  then,  I  trow.  He'll  be 

Full  pliant  in  his  will. 

When  He  is  thus  crushed  down. 

Then,  calming  down  his  mood 

Of  hard  and  bitter  wrath, 

He'll  hasten  unto  me. 

As  I  to  him  shall  haste. 

For  friendship  and  for  peace. 
Chor.  Hide  it  not  from  us,  tell  us  all  the  tale : 
For  what  offence  Zeus,  having  seized  thee  thus, 
I  1x3 


PROMETHEUS  BOUND 

So  wantonly  and  bitterly  insults  thee  : 
If  the  tale  hurt  thee  not,  inform  thou  us. 

Prom.  Painful  are  these  things  to  me  e'en  to  speak : 
Painful  is  silence  ;  everywhere  is  woe. 
For  when  the  high  Gods  fell  on  mood  of  wrath, 
And  hot  debate  of  mutual  strife  was  stirred. 
Some  wishing  to  hurl  Cronos  from  his  throne, 
That  Zeus,  forsooth,  might  reign  ;  while  others  strove. 
Eager  that  Zeus  might  never  rule  the  Gods :  "" 

Then  I,  full  strongly  seeking  to  persuade 
The  Titans,  yea,  the  sons  of  He.nven  and  Earth, 
Failed  of  my  purpose.     Scorning  subtle  arts. 
With  counsels  violent,  they  thought  that  they 
By  force  would  gain  full  easy  mastery. 
But  then  not  once  or  twice  my  mother  Themis 
And  Earth,  one  form  though  bearing  many  names,' 
Had  prophesied  the  future,  how  'twould  run. 
That  not  by  strength  nor  yet  by  violence,  -^ 

But  guile,  should  those  who  prospered  gain  the  day. 
And  when  in  my  words  I  this  counsel  gave. 
They  deigned  not  e'en  to  glance  at  it  at  all. 
And  then  of  all  that  offered,  it  seemed  best 
To  join  my  mother,  and  of  mine  own  will. 
Not  against  his  will,  take  my  side  with  Zeus, 
And  by  my  counsels,  mine,  the  dark  deep  pit 
Of  Tartaros  the  ancient  Cronos  holds, 
Himself  and  his  allies.     Thus  profiting 
By  me,  the  mighty  ruler  of  the  Gods  "" 

Repays  me  with  these  evil  penalties  : 
For  somehow  this  disease  in  sovereignty 

'  The  words  leave  it  uncertain  whether  Themis  i?  identified 
with  Earth,  or,  as  in  the  Eumenides  (v.  a)  distinguished  from 
her.  The  Titans  as  a  class,  then,  children  of  Okeanos  and 
Chthon  (another  name  for  Land  or  Earth),  arc  the  kindred 
rather  than  the  brothers  of  Prometheus. 
1*4 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Inheres,  of  never  trusting  to  one's  friends.' 

And  since  ye  ask  me  under  what  pretence 

He  thus  maltreats  me,  I  will  show  it  you : 

For  soon  as  He  upon  his  father's  throne 

Had  sat  secure,  forthwith  to  divers  Gods 

He  divers  gifts  distributed,  and  his  realm 

Began  to  order.     But  of  mortal  men 

He  took  no  heed,  but  purposed  utterly  *" 

To  crush  their  race  and  plant  another  new  ; 

And,  I  excepted,  none  dared  cross  his  will ; 

But  I  did  dare,  and  mortal  men  I  freed 

From  passing  on  to  Hades  thunder-stricken  ; 

And  therefore  am  I  bound  beneath  these  woes, 

Dreadful  to  suffer,  pitiable  to  see : 

And  I,  who  in  my  pity  thought  of  men 

More  than  myself,  have  not  been  worthy  deemed 

To  gain  like  favour,  but  all  ruthlessly 

I  thus  am  chained,  foul  shame  this  sight  to  Zeus. 

Chor.  Iron-hearted  must  he  be  and  made  of  rock    **" 
Who  is  not  moved,  Prometheus,  by  thy  woes : 
Fain  could  I  wish  I  ne'er  had  seen  such  things, 
And,  seeing  them,  am  wounded  to  the  heart. 

Prom.  Yea,  I  am  piteous  for  my  friends  to  see. 

Chor.  Did'st  thou  not  go  to  farther  lengths  than  this  ? 

Prom.  I  made  men  cease  from  contemplating  death.' 

Chor.  What  medicine  did'st  thou  find  for  that  disease  ? 


'  The  generalising  words  here,  as  in  v.  35,  appeal  to  the 
Athenian  hatred  of  all  that  was  represented  by  the  words  tyrant 
and  tyranny. 

-  The  state  described  is  that  of  men  who  "through  fear  of 
death  are  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage."  That  state,  the 
parent  of  all  superstition,  fostered  the  slavish  awe  in  which  Zeus 
delighted.  Prometheus,  representit  g  the  active  intellect  of  man, 
bestows  new  jxjwers,  new  interests,  new  hopes,  which  at  last 
divert  them  from  that  fear. 

•»5 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Prom.  Blind  hopes  I  gave  to  live  and  dwell  with 
them. 

Chor.  Great  service  that  thou  did'st  for  mortal  men  ! 

Prom.  And  more  than  that,  I  gave  them  fire, yes  I.    **' 

Chor.  Do  short-lived  men  the  flaming  fire  possess? 

Trom.  Yea,  and  full  many  an  art  they'll  learn  from  it. 

Chor.  And  is  it  then  on  charges  such  as  these 
That  Zeus  maltreats  thee,  and  no  respite  gives 
Of  many  woes  ?     And  has  thy  pain  no  end  ? 

Prom.  End  there  is  none,  except  as  pleases  Him. 

Chor.  How  shall  it  please  ?    What  hope  hast  thou  ? 
See'st  not 
That  thou  hast  sinned  ?    Yet  to  say  how  thou  sinned'st 
Gives  me  no  pleasure,  and  is  pain  to  thee. 
Well !  let  us  leave  these  things,  and,  if  we  may, 
Seek  out  some  means  to  'scape  from  this  thy  woe.     •''' 

Trom.  'Tis  a  light  thing  for  one  who  has  his  foot 
Beyond  the  reach  of  evil  to  exhort 
And  counsel  him  who  suffers.     This  to  me 
Was  all  well  known.     Yea,  willing,  willingly 
I  sinned,  nor  will  deny  it.     Helping  men, 
I  for  myself  found  trouble  :  yet  I  thought  not 
That  I  with  such  dread  penalties  as  these 
Should  wither  here  on  these  high-towering  crags. 
Lighting  on  this  lone  hill  and  neighbourless. 
Wherefore  wail  not  for  these  my  present  woes. 
But,  drawing  nigh,  my  coming  fortunes  hear,  "** 

That  ye  may  learn  the  whole  tale  to  the  end. 
Nay,  hearken,  hearken  ;  show  your  sympathy 
With  him  who  suffers  now.     'Tis  thus  that  woe, 
Wandering,  now  falls  on  this  one,  now  on  that. 

Chor.  Not  to  unwilling  hearers  hast  thou  uttered, 
Prometheus,  thy  request, 
And  now  with  nimble  foot  abounding 
My  swiftly  rushing  car, 
u6 


PROMETHEUS  BOUND 

And  the  pure  aether,  path  of  birds  of  heaven,  *"' 

I  will  draw  near  this  rough  and  rocky  land. 

For  ipuch  do  I  desire 
To  hear  this  tale,  full  measure,  of  thy  woes. 

Enter  Okeanos,  on  a  car  drawn  by  a  winged  gryphon 

Okean.  Lo,  I  come  to  thee,  Prometheus, 

Reaching  goal  of  distant  journey,^ 

Guiding  this  my  winged  courser 

By  my  will,  without  a  bridle; 

And  thy  sorrows  move  my  pity. 

Force,  in  part,  I  deem,  of  kindred 

Leads  me  on,  nor  know  I  any. 

Whom,  apart  from  kin,  I  honour  *** 

More  than  thee,  in  fuller  measure. 

This  thou  shalt  own  true  and  earnest : 

I  deal  not  in  glozing  speeches. 

Come  then,  tell  me  how  to  help  thee ; 

Ne'er  shalt  thou  say  that  one  more  friendly 

Is  found  than  unto  thee  is  Okean. 
Prom.  Let  be.    What  boots  it  ?    Thou  then  too  art 
come 
To  gaze  upon  my  sufferings.     How  did'st  dare 
Leaving  the  stream  that  bears  thy  name,  and  caves 
Hewn  in  the  living  rock,  this  land  to  visit. 
Mother  of  iron  ?     What  then,  art  thou  come 
To  gaze  upon  my  fall  and  offer  pity  ?  '" 

Behold  this  sight :  see  here  the  friend  of  Zeus, 
Who  helped  to  seat  him  in  his  sovereignty, 
With  what  foul  outrage  I  am  crushed  by  him ! 

Okean.  I  see,  Prometheus,  and  I  wish  to  give  thee 

*  The  home  of  Okeanos  was  in  the  far  west,  at  the  boundary 
of  the  great  stream  surrounding  the  whole  world,,  from  which  he 
took  his  name. 

«»7 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

My  best  advice,  all  subtle  though  thou  be. 

Know  thou  thyself,'  and  fit  thy  soul  to  moods 

To  thee  full  new.     New  king  the  Gods  have  now  ; 

But  if  thou  utter  words  thus  rough  and  sharp. 

Perchance,  though  sitting  far  away  on  high,  "** 

Zeus  yet  may  hear  thee,  and  his  present  wrath 

Seem  to  thee  but  as  child's  play  of  distress. 

Nay,  thou  poor  sufferer,  quit  the  rage  thou  hast, 

And  seek  a  remedy  for  these  thine  ills. 

A  tale  thrice-told,  perchance  I  seem  to  speak  : 

Lo!  this,  Prometheus,  is  the  punishment 

Of  thine  o'er  lofty  speech,  nor  art  thou  yet 

Humbled,  nor  yieldest  to  thy  miseries. 

And  fain  would'st  add  fresh -evils  unto  these. 

But  thou,  if  thou  wilt  take  me  as  thy  teacher,  *** 

Wilt  not  kick  out  against  the  pricks  ;*  seeing  well 

A  monarch  reigns  who  gives  account  to  none. 

And  now  I  go,  and  will  an  effort  make. 

If  I,  perchance,  may  free  thee  from  thy  woes ; 

Be  still  then,  hush  thy  petulance  of  speech. 

Or  knowest  thou  not,  o'cr-clever  as  thou  art. 

That  idle  tongues  must  still  their  forfeit  pay  ? 

Prom.  I  envy  thee,  seeing  thou  art  free  from  blame 
Though  thou  shared 'st  all,  and  in  my  cause  wast  bold  ;* 
Nay,  let  me  be,  nor  trouble  thou  thyself;  "" 

Thou  wilt  not,  canst  not  soothe  Him  ;  very  hard 
Is  He  of  soothing.      Look  to  it  thyself. 
Lest  thou  some  mischief  meet  with  in  the  way. 


1  One  of  the  saying  of  the  Seven  Sages,  already  recognised 
and  quoted  as  a  familiar  proverb. 

2  See  note  on  Agatn.  1602. 

3  In  the  mythos,  Okeanos  had  given  his  daughter  Hesione  in 
marriage  to  Prometht-us  after  the  theft  of  fire,  and  thus  had 
identified  himself  with  his  transgression. 

%%% 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Okean.    It  is  thy  wont  thy  neighbours'  minds  to 

school 
Far  better  than  thine  own.     From  deeds,  not  words, 
I  draw  my  proof.     But  do  not  draw  me  back 
When'  I  am  hasting  on,  for  lo,  I  deem, 
I  deem  that  Zeus  will  grant  this  boon  to  me, 
That  I  should  free  thee  from  these  woes  of  thine. 
Prom.  I  thank  thee  much,  yea,  ne'er  will  cease  to 

thank ; 
For  thou  no  whit  of  zeal  dost  lack ;  yet  take, 
I  pray,  no  trouble  for  me ;  all  in  vain 
Thy  trouble,  nothing  helping,  e'en  if  thou  ** 

Should'st  care  to  take  the  trouble.     Nay,  be  still ; 
Keep  out  of  harm's  way ;  sufferer  though  I  be, 
I  would  not  therefore  wish  to  give  my  woes 
A  wider  range  o'er  others.     No,  not  so : 
For  lo !  my  mind  is  wearied  with  the  grief 
Of  that  my  kinsman  Atlas,^  who  doth  stand 
In  the  far  West,  supporting  on  his  shoulders 
The  pillars  of  the  earth  and  heaven,  a  burden 
His  arms  can  ill  but  hold :  I  pity  too 
The  giant  dweller  of  Kilikian  caves,  **' 

Dread  portent,  with  his  hundred  hands,  subdued 

1  In  the  Theogovy  of  Hesiod  (v.  509),  Prometheus  and  Atlas 
appear  as  the  sons  of  two  sisters.  As  other  1  itans  were  thought 
of  as  buried  under  volcanoes,  so  this  one  was  identified  with  the 
mountain  which  had  been  seen  by  travellers  to  Western  Africa, 
or  in  the  seas  beyond  it,  rising  like  a  column  to  support  the 
vault  of  heaven.  In  Hcrodotos  (iv.  174)  and  all  later  writers, 
the  name  is  given  to  the  chain  of  mountains  in  Lybia,  as  being 
the  ' '  pillar  of  the  firmament ; "  but  Humboldt  and  others  identify 
it  with  the  lonely  peak  of  Teneriffe,  as  seen  by  Pboenikian  or 
Hellenic  vo)  agers.  Teneriffe,  too,  Uke  most  of  the  other  Titan 
mountains,  was  at  one  time  volcanic.  Homer  (Odyss.  i.  53) 
represents  him  as  holding  the  pillars  which  separate  heaven 
from  earth  ;  Hesiod  (  Theogon.  v.  517)  as  himself  standing  near 
the  Hesperides  (this  too  points  to  Teneriffe),  sustaining  the 
heavens  with  his  head  and  shoulders. 

I  "9  • 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

By  force,  the  mighty  Typhon,'  who  arose 

'Gainst  all  the  Gods,  with  sharp  and  dreadful  jaws 

Hissing  out  slaughter,  and  from  out  his  eyes 

There  flashed  the  terrible  brightness  as  of  one 

Who  would  lay  low  the  sovereignty  of  Zeus. 

But  the  unsleeping  dart  of  Zeus  came  on  him, 

Down-swooping  thunderbolt  that  breathes  out  flame, 

Which  from  his  lofty  boastings  startled  him, 

For  he  i'  the  heart  was  struck,  to  ashes  burnt,  ''^ 

His  strength  all  thunder-shattered  ;  and  he  lies 

A  helpless,  powerless  carcase,  near  the  strait 

Of  the  great  sea,  fast  pressed  beneath  the  roots 

Of  ancient  ^tna,  where  on  highest  peak 

Hephaestos  sits  and  smites  his  iron  red-hot. 

From  whence  hereafter  streams  of  fire  shall  burst,* 

Devouring  with  fierce  jaws  the  golden  plains 

Of  fruitful,  fair  Sikelia.     Such  the  wrath 

That  Typhon  shall  belch  forth  with  bursts  of  storm, 

Hot,  breathing  fire,  and  unapproachable, 

Though  burnt  and  charred  by  thunderbolts  of  Zeus.    *"*' 

Not  inexperienced  art  thou,  nor  dost  need 

My  teaching :  save  thyself,  as  thou  know'st  how  ; 

And  I  will  drink  my  fortune  to  the  dregs, 

Till  from  his  wrath  the  mind  of  Zeus  shall  rest.' 

1  The  volcanic  character  of  the  whole  of  Asia  Minor,  and  the 
liability  to  earthquakes  which  has  marked  nearly  every  period  of 
its  history,  led  men  to  connect  it  also  with  the  traditions  of  the 
Titans,  some  accordingly  placing  the  home  of  Typhon  in 
Phrygia,  some  near  Sardis,  some,  as  here,  in  Kilikia.  Hesiod 
( Theogon.  v.  820)  describes  Typhon  (or  Typhoeus)  as  a  serpent- 
monster  hissing  out  fire;  Pindar  {Pyth.  i.  30,  viii.  21)  as  lying 
with  his  head  and  breast  crushed  beneath  the  weight  of  ^tna, 
and  his  feet  extending  to  Cumae. 

■^  The  words  point  probably  to  an  eruption,  then  fresh  in  men's 
memories,  which  had  happened  B.C.  476. 

'  By  some  editors  this  spt^ech  from  "  No,  not  so,"  to  "thou 
know'st  how,"  is  assigned  to  Okeanos. 
130 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Okean.  Know'st  thou  not  this,  Prometheus,  even  this. 
Of  wrath's  disease  wise  words  the  healers  are  ? 

Prom.  Yea,  could  one  soothe  the  troubled  heart  in 
time. 
Nor  seek  by  force  to  tame  the  soul's  proud  flesh. 

Okean.   But  in  due  forethought  with  bold  daring 
blent. 
What  mischief  see'st  thou  lurking  ?     Tell  me  this.    ***' 

Prom.  Toil  bootless,  and  simplicity  full  fond. 

Okean.  Let  me,  I  pray,  that  sickness  suft'er,  since 
*Tis  best  being  wise  to  have  not  wisdom's  show. 

Prom.  Nay,  but  this  error  shall  be  deemed  as  mine. 

Okean.  Thy  word  then  clearly  sends  me  home  at 
once. 

Prom.  Yea,  lest  thy  pity  for  me  make  a  foe.   .   .  . 

Okean.  What !  ofthat  new  king  on  his  mighty  throne  ? 

Prom.  Look  to  it,  lest  his  heart  be  vexed  with  thee. 

Okean.  Thy  fate,  Prometheus,  teaches  me  that  lesson. 

Trom.  Away,  withdraw !  keep  thou  the  mind  thou 
hast.  «» 

Okean.  Thou  urgest  me  who  am  in  act  to  haste ; 
For  this  my  bird  four-footed  flaps  with  wings 
The  clear  path  of  the  aether ;  and  full  fain 
Would  he  bend  knee  in  his  own  stall  at  home,    \^Exii 

Strophe  I 

Chor.  I  grieve,  Prometheus,  for  thy  dreary  fate. 

Shedding  from  tender  eyes 

The  dew  of  plenteous  tears ; 
With  streams,  as  when  the  watery  south  wind  blows, 

My  cheek  is  wet ;  *"> 

For  lo !   these  things  are  all  unenviable. 
And  Zeus,  by  his  own  laws  his  sway  maintaining, 

Shows  to  the  elder  Gods 

A  mood  of  haughtiness. 
'3« 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 
Antistrophe  I 

And  all  the  country  echoeth  with  the  moan, 

And  poureth  many  a  tear 

For  that  magnific  power 
Of  ancient  days  far-seen  that  thou  did'st  share 

With  those  of  one  blood  sprung  ; 
And  all  the  mortal  men  who  hold  the  plain 
Of  holy  Asia  as  their  land  of  sojourn, 

They  grieve  in  sympathy 

For  thy  woes  lamentable. 

Strophe  II 

And  they,  the  maiden  band  who  find  their  home 

On  distant  Colchian  coasts, 

Fearless  of  fight,^ 
Or  Skythian  horde  in  earth's  remotest  clime. 

By  far  Maeotic  lake  ;  * 

Antistrophe  II 

*And  warlike  glory  of  Arabia's  tribes,' 

Who  nigh  to  Caucasos 

In  rock-fort  dwell. 
An  army  fearful,  with  sharp-pointed  spear 

Raging  in  war's  array. 


1  These  are,  of  course,  the  Amazons,  who  were  believed  to 
have  come  through  Thrak6  from  the  Tauric  Cher-onesos,  and 
had  left  traces  of  their  name  and  habits  in  the  Attic  traditions  of 
Theseus. 

2  Beyond  the  plains  of  Skythia,  and  the  lake  Maeotis  (the  sea 
of  Azov)  there  would  be  the  great  river  Okeanos,  which  was 
believed  to  flow  round  the  earth. 

'  Sarmatia  has  been  conjectured  instead  of  Arabia.  No  Greek 
author  sanctions  the  extension  of  the  latter  name  to  sq  remote  a 
region  as  that  north  of  the  Caspian. 

»3» 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 
Strophe  III 

One  other  Titan  only  have  I  see;i. 

One  other  of  the  Gods, 
Thus  bound  in  woes  of  adamantine  strength — 

Atlas,  who  ever  groans 
Beneath  the  burden  of  a  crushing  might. 

The  out-spread  vault  of  heaven. 

Antistrophe  III 

And  lo !  the  ocean  billows  murmur  loud  .    ** 

In  one  accord  with  him  ; ' 
The  sea-depths  groan,  and  Hades'  swarthy  pit 

Re-echoeth  the  sound, 
And  fountains  of  clear  rivers,  as  they  flow, 

Bewail  his  bitter  griefs. 
Prom.    Think  not  it  is  through  pride  or  stiff  self-will 
That  I  am  silent.     But  my  heart  is  worn, 
Self-contemplating,  as  I  see  myself 
Thus  outraged.     Yet  what  other  hand  than  mine 
Gave  these  young  Gods  in  fiilness  all  their  gifts  ? 
But  these  I  speak  not  of;  for  I  should  tell 
To  you  that  know  them.     But  those  woes  of  men,^  **" 
List  ye  to  them, — how  they,  before  as  babes, 
By  me  were  roused  to  reason,  taught  to  think ; 
And  this  I  say,  not  finding  fault  with  men, 
But  showing  my  good-will  in  all  I  gave. 

^  The  Greek  leaves  the  object  of  the  sympathy  undefined,  but 
it  seems  better  to  refer  it  to  that  which  Atlas  receives  frcni  the 
waste  of  waters  around,  and  the  dark  world  beneath,  than  to  the 
pity  shown  to  Prometheus.  This  has  already  been  dwelt  on  in 
line  421. 

2  The  passage  that  follows  has  for  modern  palaeontologists  the 
interest  of  coinciding  with  their  views  as  to  the  progress  ol  human 
society,  and  the  condition  of  mankind  during  what  has  b^en 
called  the  "Stone"  period.     Comp.  Lucretius,  v.  955-984 
133 


PROMETHEUS   BoUND 

For  first,  though  seeing,  all  in  vain  they  saw, 
And  hearing,  heard  not  rightly.     But,  like  Forms 
Of  phantom-dreams,  throughout  their  life's  whole 

length 
They  muddled  all  at  random ;  did  not  know 
Houses  of  brick  that  catch  the  sunlight's  warmth, 
Nor  yet  the  work  of  carpentry.     They  dwelt 
In  hollowed  holes,  like  swarms  of  tiny  ants, 
In  sunless  depths  of  caverns ;  and  they  had 
No  certain  signs  of  winter,  nor  of  spring 
Flower-laden,  nor  of  summer  with  her  fruits ; 
But  without  counsel  fared  their  whole  life  long, 
Until  I  showed  the  risings  of  the  stars. 
And  settings  hard  to  recognise.^     And  I 
Found  Number  for  them,  chief  device  of  all, 
•Groupings  of  letters.  Memory's  handmaid  that. 
And  mother  of  the  Muses.*     And  I  first 
Bound  in  the  yoke  wild  steeds,  submissive  made 
Or  to  the  collar  or  men's  limbs,  that  so 
They  might  in  man's  place  bear  his  greatest  toils ; 
And  horses  trained  to  love  the  rein  I  yoked 
To  chariots,  glory  of  wealth's  pride  of  state;' 
Nor  was  it  any  one  but  I  that  found 
Sea-crossing,  canvas-winged  cars  of  ships: 
Such  rare  designs  inventing  (wretched  me !) 


1  Comp.  Mr.  Blakesley's  note  on  Herod,  ii.  4,  as  showing  that 
here  there  was  the  greater  risk  of  faulty  observation. 

2  Another  reading  gives  perhaps  a  better  sense — 

' '  Memory,  handmaid  true 
And  mother  of  the  Muses." 

'  In  Greece,  as  throughout  the  East,  the  ox  was  used  for  all 
agricultural  labours,  the  horse  by  the  noble  and  the  rich,  either 
in  war  chariots,  or  stately  processions,  or  in  chariot  races  in  the 
great  games. 

'3t 


PROMETHEUS  BOUND 

For  mortal  men,  I  yet  have  no  device 

By  which  to  free  myself  from  this  my  woe.* 

Chor.  Foul  shame  thou  sufFerest :  of  thy  sense  be- 
reaved, **• 
Thou  errest  greatly :  and,  like  leech  unskilled. 
Thou  losest  heart  when  smitten  with  disease. 
And  know'st  not  how  to  find  the  remedies 
Wherewith  to  heal  thine  own  soul's  sicknesses. 

Prom.  Hearingwhat  yet  remains  thou'lt  wonder  more, 
What  arts  and  what  resources  I  devised  : 
And  this  the  chief:  if  any  one  fell  ill, 
There  was  no  help  for  him,  nor  healing  food, 
Nor  unguent,  nor  yet  potion  ;  but  for  want 
Of  drugs  they  wasted,  till  I  showed  to  them 
The  blendings  of  all  mild  medicaments,^  *^ 

Wherewith  they  ward  the  attacks  of  sickness  sore. 
I  gave  them  many  modes  of  prophecy ; ' 
And  I  first  taught  them  what  dreams  needs  must  prove 
True  visions,  and  made  known  the  ominous  sounds 
Full  hard  to  know ;  and  tokens  by  the  way. 
And  flights  of  taloned  birds  I  clearly  marked, — 
Those  on  the  right  propitious  to  mankind. 


1  Compare  with  this  the  account  ofthe  inventions  of  Palamedes 
in  Sophocles,  Fragm.  379. 

'  Here  we  can  recognise  the  knowledge  of  one  who  had  studied 
in  the  schools  of  Pythagoras,  or  had  at  any  rate  picked  up  their 
terminology.  A  more  immediate  connexion  may  p)erhaps  be 
traced  with  the  influence  of  Epimenides,  who  was  said  to  have 
spent  many  years  in  searching  out  the  healing  virtues  of  plants, 
and  to  have  written  books  about  them. 

'  The  lines  that  follow  form  almost  a  manual  of  the  art  of 
divination  as  then  practised.  The  "ominous  sounds"  include 
chance  words,  strange  cries,  any  unexpected  utterance  that  con- 
nected itself  with  men's  fears  for  the  future.  The  flights  of  birds 
were  watched  by  the  diviner  as  he  faced  the  north,  and  so  the 
region  on  the  right  hand  was  that  of  the  sunrise,  light,  blessed- 
ness ;  on  the  left  there  were  darkness  and  gloom  and  death. 
»3S 


fROMETHEUS   BOUNt) 

And  those  sinister, — and  what  form  of  life 

They  each  maintain,  and  what  their  enmities 

Each  with  the  other,  and  their  loves  and  friendships ;  *** 

And  of  the  inward  parts  the  plumpness  smooth. 

And  with  what  colour  they  the  Gods  would  please. 

And  the  streaked  comeliness  of  gall  and  liver : 

And  with  burnt  limbs  enwrapt  in  fat,  and  chine, 

I  led  men  on  to  art  full  difficult : 

And  I  gave  eyes  to  omens  drawn  from  fire. 

Till  then  dim-visioned.     So  far  then  for  this. 

And  'neath  the  earth  the  hidden  boons  for  men, 

Bronze,  iron,  silver,  gold,  who  else  could  say  "' 

That  he,  ere  I  did,  found  them  ?     None,  I  know, 

Unless  he  fain  would  babble  idle  words. 

In  one  short  word,  then,  learn  the  truth  condensed, — 

Allarts  of  mortals  from  Prometheus  spring. 

Chor.  Nay,  be  not  thou  to  men  so  over-kind, 
While  thou  thyself  art  in  sore  evil  case  ; 
For  I  am  sanguine  that  thou  too,  released 
From  bonds,  shalt  be  as  strong  as  Zeus  himself. 

Prom.  It  is  not  thus  that  Fate's  decree  is  fixed  ; 
But  I,  long  crushed  with  twice  ten  thousand  woes     *^ 
And  bitter  pains,  shall  then  escape  my  bonds ; 
Art  is  far  weaker  than  Necessity. 

Chor.  Who  guides  the  helm,  then,  of  Necessity  ? 

Prom.  Fates  triple-formed,  Errinyes  unforgetting. 

Chor.  Is  Zeus,  then,  weaker  in  his  might  than  these  ? 

Prom.  Not  even  He  can  'scape  the  thing  decreed. 

Chor.  What  is  decreed  for  Zeus  but  still  to  reign  ? 

Prom.  Thou  may'st  no  further  learn,  ask  thou  no 
more. 

Chor.  'Tis  doubtless  some  dread  secret  which  thou 
hidest. 

Prom.  Of  other  theme  make  mention,  for  the  time  "" 
Is  not  yet  come  to  utter  this,  but  still 
>36 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

It  must  be  hidden  to  the  uttermost ; 

For  by  thus  keeping  it  it  is  that,  I 

Escape  my  bondage  foul,  and  these  my  pains. 


Strophe  I 

Chor.   Ah !   ne'er  may  Zeus  the  Lord, 
Whose  sovran  sway  rules  all. 
His  strength  in  conflict  set 
Against  my  feeble  will ! 
Nor  may  I  fail  to  serve 
The  Gods  with  holy  feast 
Of  whole  burnt-ofterings, 
Where  the  stream  ever  flows 
That  bears  my  father's  name, 
The  great  Okeanos ! 
Nor  may  I  sin  in  speech ! 
May  this  grace  more  and  more 
Sink  deep  into  my  soul 
And  never  fade  away  ! 

Antistrophe  I 

Sweet  is  it  in  strong  hope 
To  spend  long  years  of  life, 
With  bright  and  cheering  joy 
Our  heart's  thoughts  nourishing. 
I  shudder,  seeing  thee 
Thus  vexed  and  harassed  sore 
By  twice  ten  thousand  woes ; 
For  thou  in  pride  of  heart, 
Having  no  fear  of  Zeus, 
In  thine  own  obstinacy, 
Dost  show  for  mortal  men, 
Prometheus,  love  o'crmuch. 
»37 


PROMETHEUS  BOUND 

Strophe  II 
See  how  that  boon,  dear  friends, 
For  thee  is  bootless  found. 
Say,  where  is  any  help  r 
What  aid  from  mortals  comes  ? 
Hast  thou  not  seen  this  brief  and  powerless  life, 
Fleeting  as  dreams,  with  which  man's  purblind  race 

Is  fast  in  fetters  bound  ?  '*" 

Never  shall  counsels  vain 

Of  mortal  men  break  through 

The  harmony  of  Zeus. 

Antistrophe  II 

This  lesson  have  I  learnt 

Beholding  thy  sad  fate, 

Prometheus !      Other  strains 

Come  back  upon  my  mind. 
When  I  sang  wedding  hymns  around  thy  bath, 
And  at  thy  bridal  bed,  when  thou  did'st  take 

In  wedlock's  holy  bands 

One  of  the  same  sire  born. 

Our  own  Hesione,  '™ 

Persuading  her  with  gifts 

As  wife  to  share  thy  couch. 

Enter  lo  in  form  like  a  fair  woman  with  a  heifer* i 
horns ^  followed  by  the  Spectre  o/"Argos 

lo.  What  land  is  this  ?     What  people  ?     Whom 
shall  I 

1  So  lo  was  represented,  we  are  told,  by  Greek  sculptors 
(Herod,  ii.  41),  as  Isis  was  by  those  of  Egypt.  The  points  of 
contact  between  the  myth  of  lo  and  that  of  Prometheus,  as 
adopted,  or  perhaps  develop>ed,  by  ^schylos  are — (i)  that  from 
her  the  destined  deliverer  of  the  chained  Titan  is  to  come  ;  (a) 
that  both  were  suffering  from  the  cruelty  of  Zeus  ;  (3)  that  the 
138 


PROMETHEUS  BOUND 

Say  that  I  see  thus  vexed 

With  bit  and  curb  of  rock? 

For  what  offence  dost  thou 

Bear  fatal  punishment  ? 

Tell  me  to  what  far  land 

I've  wandered  here  in  woe. 
Ah  me  !  ah  me  ! 
Again  the  gadfly  stings  me  miserable. 

Spectre  of  Argos,  thou,  the  earth-born  one — 

Ah,  keep  him  off,  O  Earth  ! 
I  fear  to  look  upon  that  herdsman  dread,  *® 

Him  with  ten  thousand  eyes : 
Ah  lo  !  he  Cometh  with  his  crafty  look. 
Whom  Earth  refuses  even  dead  to  hold ; ' 

But  coming  from  beneath 

He  hunts  me  miserable, 
And  drives  me  famished  o'er  the  sea-beach  sand. 

Strophe 

And  still  his  waxened  reed-pipe  soundeth  clear 

A  soft  and  slumberous  strain  ; 

O  heavens !  O  ye  Gods !  *" 

Whither  do  these  long  wanderings  lead  me  on  ? 
For  what  offence,  O  son  of  Cronos,  what. 


wanderings  of  lo  gave  scope  for  the  wild  tales  of  far  countries 
on  which  the  imagination  of  the  Athenians  fed  greedily.  But, 
as  the  Suppliants  may  Sf-rve  to  show,  the  story  itself  had  a  strange 
fascination  for  him.  In  the  birth  of  Epaphos,  and  lo's  release 
from  her  frenzy,  he  saw,  it  may  be,  a  reconciliation  of  what  bad 
seemed  hard  to  reconcile,  a  solution  of  the  problems  of  the 
world,  like  in  kind  to  that  which  was  shadowed  forth  in  the  lost 
Prometheus  Unbound. 

'  Argos  had  be^n  slain  by  Hermes,  and  his  eyes  transferred  by 
Hera  to  the  tail  of  the  peacock,  and  that  bird  was  henceforth 
sacred  to  her. 

139 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Hast  thou  thus  bound  me  fast 
In  these  great  miseries  ? 
Ah  me  !  ah  me  ! 
And  why  with  terror  of  the  gadfly's  sting 
Dost  thou  thus  vex  me,  frenzied  in  my  soul  I 
Burn  me  with  fire,  or  bury  me  in  earth, 
Or  to  wild  sea-beasts  give  me  as  a  prey  : 
Nay,  grudge  me  not,  O  King, 
An  answer  to  my  prayers :  *** 

Enough  my  many-wandered  wanderings 
Have  exercised  my  sou]. 
Nor  have  I  power  to  learn 
How  to  avert  the  woe. 
(To  Prometheus.^   Hear'st  thou  the  voice  of  maiden 

crowned  with  horns  ? 
"Prom.  Surely  I  heard  the  maid  by  gadfly  driven. 
Daughter  of  Inachos,  who  warmed  the  heart 
Of  Zeus  with  love,  and  now  through  Hera's  hate 
Is  tried,  perforce,  with  wanderings  over-long  ? 

Antistrophe 

lo.  How  is  it  that  thou  speak'st  my  father's  name  \ 

Tell  me,  the  suffering  one,  •"' 

Who  art  thou,  who,  poor  wretch. 
Who  thus  so  truly  nam'st  me  miserable, 

And  tell'st  the  plague  from  Heaven, 

Which  with  its  haunting  stings 

Wears  me  to  death  ?     Ah  woe ! 
And  I  with  famished  and  unseemly  bound? 
Rush  madly,  driven  by  Hera's  jealous  craft. 
Ah,  who  of  all  that  suffer,  born  to  woe,  ®^ 

Have  trouble  like  the  pain  that  I  endure? 

But  thou,  make  clear  to  me. 

What  yet  for  me  remains, 
140 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

What  remedy,  what  healing  for  my  pangs. 
Show  me,  if  thou  dost  know  : 
Speak  out  and  tell  to  me, 
The  maid  by  wanderings  vexed. 

Prom.   I  will  say  plainly  all  thou  seek'st  to  know  ; 
Not  in  dark  tangled  riddles,  but  plain  speech, 
As  it  is  meet  that  friends  to  friends  should  speak ; 
Thou  see'st  Prometheus  who  gave  fire  to  men.  ^^ 

lo.   O  thou  to  men  as  benefactor  known, 
Why,  poor  Prometheus,  sufFerest  thou  this  pain  ? 

Prom.  I  have  but  now  mine  own  woes  ceased  to  wail. 

lo.  Wilt  thou  not  then  bestow  this  boon  on  me  ? 

Prom.  Say  what  thou  seek'st,  for  I  will  tell  thee  all. 

lo.  Tell  me,  who  fettered  thee  in  this  ravine  ? 

Prom.  The  counsel  was  of  Zeus,  the  hand  Hephaestos'. 

lo.  Of  what  offence  dost  thou  the  forfeit  pay  ? 

Prom.  Thus  much  alone  am  I  content  to  tell. 

lo.  Tell  me,  at  least,  besides,  what  end  shall  come  •*" 
To  my  drear  wanderings ;  when  the  time  shall  be. 

Prom.  Not  to  know  this  is  better  than  to  know. 

lo.  Nay,  hide  not  from  me  what  I  have  to  bear. 

Prom.  It  is  not  that  I  grudge  the  boon  to  thee. 

lo.  Why  then  delayest  thou  to  tell  the  whole  ? 

Prom.  Not  from  ill  will,  but  loth  to  vex  thy  soul. 

lo.  Nay,  care  thou  not  beyond  what  pleases  me. 

Prom.  If  thou  desire  it  I  must  speak.     Hear  then. 

Chor.  Not  yet  though  ;  grant  me  share  of  pleasure  too. 
Let  us  first  ask  the  tale  of  her  great  woe,  •* 

While  she  unfolds  her  life's  consuming  chances ; 
Her  future  sufferings  let  her  learn  from  thee. 

Prom.  *Tis  thy  work,  lo,  to  grant  these  their  wish. 
On  other  grounds  and  as  thy  father's  kin  : ' 

1  Inachos  the  father  of  lo  (identified  with  the  Argive  river  of 
the  same  name),  was,  like  all  rivers,  a  son  of  Okeanos,  and 
therefore  brother  to  the  nymphs  who  had  come  to  see  Prometheus. 

'4' 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

For  to  bewail  and  moan  one's  evil  chance, 
Here  where  one  trusts  to  gain  a  pitying  tear 
From  those  who  hear, — this  is  not  labour  lost. 
lo.  I  know  not  how  to  disobey  your  wish  ; 
So  ye  shall  learn  the  whole  that  ye  desire 
In  speech  full  clear.     And  yet  I  blush  to  tell  •*' 

The  storm  that  came  from  God,  and  brought  the  loss 
Of  maiden  face,  what  way  it  seized  on  me. 
For  nightly  visions  coming  evermore 
Into  my  virgin  bower,  sought  to  woo  me 
With  glozing  words.     "  O  virgin  greatly  blest, 
Why  art  thou  still  a  virgin  when  thou  might'st 
Attain  to  highest  wedlock  ?     For  with  dart 
Of  passion  for  thee  Zeus  doth  glow,  and  fain 
Would  make  thee  his.     And  thou,  O  child,  spurn  not 
The  bed  of  Zeus,  but  go  to  Lerna's  field,  "^^ 

Where  feed  thy  father's  flocks  and  herds, 
That  so  the  eye  of  Zeus  may  find  repose 
From  this  his  craving."     With  such  visions  I 
Was  haunted  every  evening,  till  I  dared 
To  tell  my  father  all  these  dreams  of  night. 
And  he  to  Pytho  and  Dodona  sent 
Full  many  to  consult  the  Gods,  that  he, 
M  ight  learn  \yhat  deeds  and  words  would  please  Heaven's 

lords. 
And  they  came  bringing  speech  of  oracles 
Shot  with  dark  sayings,  dim  and  hard  to  know.  ^^ 

At  last  a  clear  word  came  to  Inachos 
Charging  him  plainly,  and  commanding  him 
To  thrust  me  from  my  country  and  my  home. 
To  stray  at  large'  to  utmost  bounds  of  earth  ; 

i  The  words  used  have  an  almost  technical  meaning  a«;  applied 
to  animals  that  were  consecrated  to  the  service  of  a  God,  and  set 
free  to  wander  where  they  liked.  The  fate  of  lo,  as  at  once 
davoted  to  Zeus  and  animalised  in  form,  was  thus  shadowed  forth 
in  the  veiy  language  of  the  Oracle. 
142 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

And,  should  he  gainsay,  that  the  fiery  bolt 

Of  Zeus  should  come  and  sweep  away  his  race. 

And  he,  by  Loxias'  oracles  induced, 

Thrust  me,  against  his  will,  against  mine  too, 

And  drove  me  from  my  home  ;  but  spite  of  all, 

The  curb  of  Zeus  constrained  him  this  to  do.  *" 

And  then  forthwith  my  face  and  mind  were  changed  ; 

And  horned,  as  ye  see  me,  stung  to  the  quick 

By  biting  gadfly,  I  with  maddened  leap 

Rushed  to  Kerchneia's  fair  and  limpid  stream, 

And  fount  of  Lerna.*     And  a  giant  herdsman, 

Argos,  full  rough  of  temper,  followed  me. 

With  many  an  eye  beholding,  on  my  track : 

And  him  a  sudden  and  unlooked-for  doom 

Deprived  of  life.     And  I,  by  gadfly  stung, 

By  scourge  from  Heaven  am  driven  from  land  to  land,  '*• 

What  has  been  done  thou  hearest.     And  if  thou 

Can'st  tell  what  yet  remains  of  woe,  declare  it ; 

Nor  in  thy  pity  soothe  me  with  false  words ; 

For  hollow  words,  I  deem,  are  worst  of  ills. 

Chor.  Away,  away,  let  be  : 

Ne'er  thought  I  that  such  tales 
Would  ever,  ever  come  unto  mine  ears ; 
Nor  that  such  terrors,  woes  and  outrages. 

Hard  to  look  on,  hard  to  bear,    '  "" 

Would  chill  my  soul  with  sharp  goad,  double-edged. 

Ah  fate  !  Ah  fate  ! 
I  shudder,  seeing  lo's  fortune  strange. 

Prom.  Thou  art  too  quick  in  groaning,  full  of  fear : 
Wait  thou  a  while  until  thou  hear  the  rest. 

Chor.  Speak  thou  and  tell.     Unto  the  sick  'tis  sweet 
Clearly  to  know  what  yet  remains  of  pain. 

'  Lerna  was  the  lake  near  the  mouth  of  the  Inachos,  close  to 
the  sea.     Ktrchneia  may  perhaps  be  identified  with  the  Ken- 
chreae,  the  haven  of  Korinth  in  later  geographies. 
»43 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Prom.  Your  former  wish  ye  gained  full  easily. 
Your  first  desire  was  to  learn  of  her 
The  tale  she  tells  of  her  own  sufferings ; 
Now  therefore  hear  the  woes  that  yet  remain 
For  this  poor  maid  to  bear  at  Hera's  hands. 
And  thou,  O  child  of  Inachos !   take  heed 
To  these  my  words,  that  thou  may'st  hear  the  goal 
Of  all  thy  wanderings.     First  then,  turning  hence 
Towards  the  sunrise,  tread  the  untilled  plains, 
And  thou  shalt  reach  the  Skythian  nomads,  those ' 
Who  on  smooth-rolling  waggons  dwell  aloft 
In  wicker  houses,  with  far-darting  bows 
Duly  equipped.     Approach  thou  not  to  these, 
But  trending  round  the  coasts  on  which  the  surf 
Beats  with  loud  murmurs,^  traverse  thou  that  clime. 
On  the  left  hand  there  dwell  the  Chalybes,* 
Who  work  in  iron.     Of  these  do  thou  beware, 
For  fierce  are  they  and  most  inhospitable ; 
And  thou  wilt  reach  the  river  fierce  and  strong, 
True  to  its  name.*     This  seek  not  thou  to  cross. 
For  it  is  hard  to  ford,  until  thou  come 
To  Caucasos  itself,  of  all  high  hills 
The  highest,  where  a  river  pours  its  strength 


1  The  wicker  huts  used  by  Skythian  or  Thrakian  nomads  (the 
Calmucks  of  modern  geographers)  are  described  by  Herodotos 
(iv.  46)  and  are  still  in  use. 

2  Sc,  the  N.E.  boundary  of  the  Euxine,  where  spurs  of  the 
Caucasos  ridge  approach  the  sea. 

3  The  Chalybes  are  placed  by  geographers  to  the  south  ot 
Colchis.  1  he  description  of  the  text  indicates  a  locality  farther 
to  the  north. 

*  Probably  the  Araxes,  which  the  Greeks  would  connect  with 
a  word  conveying  the  idea  of  a  torrent  dashing  on  the  rocks. 
The  description  seems  to  imply  a  river  flowing  into  the  Euxine 
from  the  Caucasos,  and  the  condiiion  is  fulfilled  by  the  Hypanis 
or  Kottban. 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

From  the  high   peaks   themselves.      And  thou   must 
cross  ^*" 

Those  summits  near  the  stars,  must  onward  go 
Towards  the  south,  where  thou  shalt  find  the  host 
Of  the  Amazons,  hating  men,  whose  home 
Shall  one  day  be  around  Thermodon's  bank, 
By  Themiskyra,'  where  the  ravenous  jaws 
Of  Salmydessos  ope  upon  the  sea, 
Treacherous  to  sailors,  stepdame  stern  to  ships.* 
And  they  with  right  good-will  shall  be  thy  guides ; 
And  thou,  hard  by  a  broad  pool's  narrow  gates. 
Wilt  pass  to  the  Kimmerian  isthmus.     Leaving 
This  boldly,  thou  must  cross  Maeotic  channel ;  *        ''"" 
And  there  shall  be  great  fame  'mong  mortal  men 
Of  this  thy  journey,  and  the  Bosporos  * 
Shall  take  its  name  from  thee.     And  Europe's  plain 
Then  quitting,  thou  shalt  gain  the  Asian  coast. 
Doth  not  the  all-ruling  monarch  of  the  Gods 
Seem  all  ways  cruel  ?     For,  although  a  God, 
He,  seeking  to  embrace  this  mortal  maid. 
Imposed  these  wanderings  on  her.    Thou  hast  found, 


'  When  the  Amazons  appear  in  contact  with  Greek  history, 
they  are  found  in  Thrace.  But  they  had  come  from  the  coast  of 
Pontes,  and  near  the  mouth  of  the  Thermodon  (  Thermeh).  The 
words  of  Prometheus  point  to  yet  earlier  migiations  from  the 
East. 

2  Here,  as  in  Soph.  Antig.  (970)  the  name  Salmydessos  repre- 
sents the  rockbound,  havenless  coast  from  the  promontory  of 
Thynias  to  the  entranc-  of  the  Bosporos,  which  hnd  given  to  the 
Black  Sea  its  earlier  name  of  Axcnos,  the  "inhospitable." 

'  The  track  is  here  in  some  confusion.  From  the  Amazons 
south  of  the  Caucasos,  lo  is  to  find  her  way  to  the  Tauric  Cher- 
sonese (the  Crimea)  and  the  Kimmerian  Bosporos,  which  flows 
into  the  Sea  of  Azov,  and  so  to  return  to  Asia. 

*  Here,  as  in  a  hundred  other  instances,  a  false  etymology  has 
become  the  parent  of  a  myth.  The  name  Bosporos  is  probably 
Asiatic  not  Greek,  and  has  an  entirely  diRereat  signification. 

I  .  145  K 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

O  maiden  !   bitter  suitor  for  thy  hand  ; 

For  great  as  are  the  ills  thou  now  hast  heard, 

Know  that  as  yet  not  e'en  the  prelude's  known.         '*" 

lo.  Ah  woe  !  woe  !  woe  ! 

Prom.  Again  thou  groan'st  and  criest.  What  wilt  do 
When  thou  shalt  learn  the  evils  yet  to  come  ? 

Chor.  What !  are  there  troubles  still  to  come  for  her  ? 

Prom.   Yea,  stormy  sea  of  woe  most  lamentable. 

lo.  What  gain  is  it  to  live  ?     Why  cast  I  not 
Myself  at  once  from  this  high  precipice. 
And,  dashed  to  earth,  be  free  from  all  my  woes  ? 
Far  better  were  it  once  for  all  to  die 
Than  all  one's  days  to  suffer  pain  and  grief.  "" 

Prom.  My  struggles  then  full  hardly  thou  would'st 
bear. 
For  whom  there  is  no  destiny  of  death  ; 
For  that  might  bring  a  respite  from  my  woes : 
But  now  there  is  no  limit  to  my  pangs 
Till  Zeus  be  hurled  out  from  his  sovereignty. 

lo.  What !  shall  Zeus  e'er  be  hurled  from  his  high 
state  ? 

Prom.  Thou  would'st  rejoice,  I  trow,  to  see  that  fall. 

lo.  How  should     I    not,    when    Zeus    so    foully 
wrongs  me  ? 

Prom.  That  this  is  so  thou  now  may'st  hear  from  me. 

lo.  Who  then  shall  rob  him  of  his  sceptred  sway  ?  '** 

Prom.  Himself  shall  do  it  by  his  own  rash  plans. 

lo.  But  how  ?     Tell  this,  unless  it  bringeth  harm. 

Trom.  He  shall  wed  one  for  whom  one  day  he'll  grieve. 

lo.  Heaven-born  or  mortal  ?  Tell,  if  tell  thou  may'st. 

Prom.  Why  ask'st  thou  who  ?  I  may  not  tell  thee  that. 

lo.  Shall  his  bride  hurl  him  from  his  throne  of  might  ? 

Prom.  Yea  ;  she  shall  bear  child  mightier  than  his 
sire. 

lo.  Has  he  no  way  to  turn  aside  that  doom  ? 
«4« 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Trom.  No,  none  ;  unless  I  from  my  bonds  be  loosed.* 

lo.  Who  then  shall  loose  thee  'gainst  the  will  of 
Zeus  ?  «» 

Prom.  It  must  be  one  of  thy  posterity. 

lo.  What,  shall  a  child  of  mine  free  thee  from  ills  ? 

Prom.  Yea,  the  third  generation  after  ten.' 

lo.  No  more  thine  oracles  are  clear  to  me. 

*Prom.  Nay,  seek  not  thou  thine  own  drear  fate  to 
know. 

lo.  Do  not,  a  boon  presenting,  then  withdraw  it. 

Prom.  Of  two  alternatives,  I'll  give  thee  choice. 

lo.  Tell  me  of  what,  then  give  me  leave  to  choose. 

Trom.  I  give  it  then.     Choose,  or  that  I  should  tell 
Thy  woes  to  come,  or  who  shall  set  me  free.  **' 

Chor.  Of  these  be  willing  one  request  to  grant 
To  her,  and  one  to  me ;  nor  scorn  my  words : 
Tell  her  what  yet  of  wanderings  she  must  bear. 
And  me  who  shall  release  thee.     This  I  crave. 

Prom.  Since  ye  are  eager,  I  will  not  refuse 
To  utter  fully  all  that  ye  desire. 
Thee,  lo,  first  I'll  tell  thy  wanderings  wild, 
Thou,  write  it  in  the  tablets  of  thy  mind. 
When  thou  shalt  cross  the  straits,  of  continents 
The  boundary,'  take  thou  the  onward  path 
On  to  the  fiery-hued  and  sun-tracked  East.  •'" 


1  The  lines  refer  to  tne  story  that  Zeus  loved  Thetis  the 
daughter  of  Nereus,  and  followed  her  to  Caucasos,  but  abstained 
from  marriage  with  her  because  Prometheus  warned  him  that 
the  child  born  of  that  union  should  overthrow  his  father.  Here 
the  future  is  used  of  what  v/as  still  contingent  only.  In  the  lost 
play  of  the  Trilogy  the  myth  was  possibly  brought  to  its  conclu- 
sion and  connected  with  the  release  of  Prometheus. 

2  Heracles,  whose  genealogy  was  traced  through  Alcmena, 
Perspus,  Danae,  Danaosandsevenothernames,  to  Epaphos  and  lo. 

'  Probably  the  Kimmerian  Bosporos.     The  Tanais  or  Phasis 
has,  however,  been  conjecttired. 
•47 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

[And  first  of  all,  to  frozen  Northern  blasts 

Thou'lt  come,  and  there  beware  the  rushing  whirl, 

Lest  it  should  come  upon  thee  suddenly, 

And  sweep  thee  onward  with  the  cloud-rack  wild  ;]  ' 

Crossing  the  sea-surf  till  thou  come  at  last 

Unto  Kisthene's  Gorgoneian  plains. 

Where  dwell  the  grey-haired  virgin  Phorkides,* 

Three,  swan-shaped,  with  one  eye  between  them  all 

And  but  one  tooth ;  whom  nor  the  sun  beholds 

With  radiant  beams,  nor  yet  the  moon  by  night : 

And  near  them  are  their  winged  sisters  three, 

The  Gorgons,  serpent-tressed,  and  hating  men. 

Whom  mortal  wight  may  not  behold  and  live.  '^ 

*Such  is  one  ill  I  bid  thee  guard  against ; 

Now  hear  another  monstrous  sight :   Beware 

The  sharp-beaked  hounds  of  Zeus  that  never  bark,' 

The  Gryphons,  and  the  one-eyed,  mounted  host 

Of  Arimaspians,  who  around  the  stream 

That  flows  o'er  gold,  the  ford  of  Pluto,  dwell  :* 

1  The  history  of  the  passage  in  brackets  is  curious  enough  to 
call  for  a  note.  They  are  not  in  any  extant  MS. ,  but  they  are 
found  in  a  passage  quoted  by  Galen  (v.  p.  454),  as  from  the  /"ro- 
metheus  Bound,  and  are  inserted  here  by  Mr.  Paley. 

"^  Kisthene  belongs  to  the  geography  of  legend,  lying  some- 
where on  the  shore  of  the  great  ocean-river  in  Lybia  or  .Ethiopia, 
at  the  end  of  the  world,  a  great  mountain  in  the  far  West, 
beyond  the  Hesperides,  the  dwelling-place,  as  here,  of  the 
Gorgons,  the  daughters  of  Phorkys.  1  hose  first-named  are  the 
Graiae. 

3  Here,  like  the  "winged  hound"  of  v.  1043,  for  the  eagles 
that  are  the  messengers  of  Zeus. 

4  We  are  carried  back  again  from  the  fabled  West  to  the 
fabled  East.  The  Arimaspians,  with  one  eye,  and  the  Grypes 
or  Gryphons  (the  griffins  of  mediaeval  heraldry),  quadrupeds 
with  the  wings  and  beaks  of  eagles,  were  placed  by  most  writers 
(Herod,  iv.  13,  27)  in  the  north  of  Europe,  in  or  beyond  the 
terra  incognita  of  Skythia.  The  mention  of  the  "ford  ot 
Pluto"   and   .(^ithiopia,    however,   may    possibly   imply  (if  we 

148 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Draw  not  thou  nigh  to  them.     But  distant  land 

Thou  shalt  approach,  the  swarthy  tribes  who  dwell 

By  the  sun's  fountain,^  Ethiopia's  stream  : 

By  its  banks  wend  thy  way  until  thou  come 

To  that  great  fall  where  from  the  Bybline  hills         *^" 

The  Neilos  pours  its  pure  and  holy  flood  ; 

And  it  shall  guide  thee  to  Neilotic  land, 

Three-angled,  where,  O  lo,  'tis  decreed 

For  thee  and  for  thy  progeny  to  found 

A  far-off  colony.     And  if  of  this 

Aught  seem  to  thee  as  stammering  speech  obscure, 

Ask  yet  again  and  learn  it  thoroughly  : 

Far  more  of  leisure  have  I  than  I  like. 

Chor.  If  thou  hast  aught  to  add,  aught  left  untold 
Of  her  sore-wasting  wanderings,  speak  it  out ;  ®^° 

But  if  thou  hast  said  all,  then  grant  to  us 
The  boon  we  asked.     Thou  dost  not,  sure,  forget  it. 

Prom.  The   whole    course    of  her  journeying  she 
hath  heard. 
And  that  she  know  she  hath  not  heard  in  vain 
I  will  tell  out  what  troubles  she  hath  borne 
Before  she  came  here,  giving  her  sure  proof 
Of  these  my  words.     The  greater  bulk  of  things 
I  will  pass  o'er,  and  to  the  very  goal 

identify  it,  as  Mr.  Paley  does,  with  the  Tartessos  of  Spain,  or 
Boetis — Guadalquivir)  that  ^Eschylos  followed  another  legend 
which  placed  them  in  the  West.  There  is  possibly  a  parono- 
masia tietween  Pluto,  the  God  of  Hades,  and  Plutos,  the  ideal 
God  of  riches. 

^  The  name  was  applied  by  later  writers  (Quintus  Curtius, 
iv.  7,  22  ;  Lucretius,  vi.  848)  to  the  fountain  in  the  temple  of 
Jupiter  Ammon  in  the  great  Oasis.  Tlie  "  river  .^thiops  may 
be  purely  imaginary,  but  it  may  also  suggest  the  possibility  of 
some  vague  knowledge  of  the  Niger,  or  more  probably  of  the 
Nile  it.":elf  in  the  upper  regions  of  its  course.  The  "  Bybline 
hills  "  ca  ry  the  name  Byblos,  which  we  only  read  of  as  belonging 
to  a  town  in  the  Delta,  to  the  Second  Cataract. 
149 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Of  all  thy  wanderings  go.     For  when  thou  cani'st 

To  the  Molossian  plains,  and  by  the  grove ^ 

Of  lofty-ridged  Dodona,  and  the  shrine 

Oracular  of  Zeus  Thesprotian,  ^'^ 

And  the  strange  portent  of  the  talking  oaks, 

By  which  full  clearly,  not  in  riddle  dark, 

Thou  wast  addressed  as  noble  spouse  of  Zeus, — 

If  aught  of  pleasure  such  things  give  to  thee, — 

Thence  strung  to  frenzy,  thou  did'st  rush  along 

The  sea-coast's  path  to  Rhea's  mighty  gulf,* 

In  backward  way  from  whence  thou  now  art  vexed, 

And  for  all  time  to  come  that  reach  of  sea. 

Know  well,  from  thee  Ionian  shall  be  called. 

To  all  men  record  of  thy  journeyings.  *'*' 

These  then  are  tokens  to  thee  that  my  mind 

Sees  somewhat  more  than  that  is  manifest. 

What  follows  {to  the  Chorus)  I  will  speak  to  you  and 
her 
In  common,  on  the  track  of  former  words 
Returning  once  again.     A  city  stands, 
Canobos,  at  its  country's  furthest  bound. 
Hard  by  the  mouth  and  silt-bank  of  the  Nile  ; 
There  Zeus  shall  give  thee  back  thy  mind  again,' 
With  hand  that  works  no  terror  touching  thee, — 
Touch  only — and  thou  then  shalt  bear  a  child 
Of  Zeus  begotten,  Epaphos,  "  Touch-born,"  *™ 

Swarthy  of  hue,  whose  lot  shall  be  to  reap 

1  Comp.  Sophocles,  Trachin.,  v.  n68. 

3  The  Adriatic  or  Ionian  Gulf. 

3  In  the  Suppliants,  Zeus  is  said  to  have  soothed  her,  and 
restored  her  to  her  human  consciousness  by  his  "  divine  breath- 
ings." The  thought  underlying  the  legend  may  be  taken  either 
as  a  disfortion  of  some  primitive  tradition,  or  as  one  of  the 
' '  unconscious  prophecies  '  of  heathenism.  The  deliverer  is  not 
to  be  born  after  the  common  manner  of  men,  and  is  to  have  a 
divine  as  well  as  a  human  parentage. 
ISO 


PROMfiTHEUS  BOUND 

The  whole  plain  watered  by  the  broad-streamed  Neilos : 
And  in  the  generation  fifth  from  him 
A  household  numbering  fifty  shall  return 
Against  their  will  to  Argos,  in  their  flight 
From  wedlock  with  their  cousins.'     And  they  too, 
(Kites  but  a  little  space  behind  the  doves) 
With  eager  hopes  pursuing  marriage  rites 
Beyond  pursuit  shall  come  ;  and  God  shall  grudge 
To  give  up  their  sweet  bodies.     And  the  land 
Pelasgian'  shall  receive  them,  when  by  stroke 
Of  woman's  murderous  hand  these  men  shall  lie 
Smitten  to  death  by  daring  deed  of  night :  **° 

For  every  bride  shall  take  her  husband's  life. 
And  dip  in  blood  the  sharp  two-edged  sword 
(So  to  my  foes  may  Kypris  show  herself!)* 
Yet  one  of  that  fair  band  shall  love  persuade 
Her  husband  not  to  slaughter,  and  her  will 
Shall  lose  its  edge  ;  and  she  shall  make  her  choice 
Rather  as  weak  than  murderous  to  be  known. 
And  she  at  Argos  shall  a  royal  seed 
Bring  forth   (long  speech   'twould   take    to    tell   this 
clear)  *" 

Famed  for  his  arrows,  who  shall  set  me  free* 
From  these  my  woes.  Such  was  the  oracle 
Mine  ancient  mother  Themis,  Titan-born, 


1  See  the  argument  of  the  Suppliants,  who,  as  the  daughters 
of  Danaos,  descended  from  Epaphos,  are  here  referred  lo.  The 
passage  is  noticeable  as  showing  that  the  theme  of  that  tragedy 
was  already  present  to  the  poet  s  thoughts. 

'  Argos.  So  in  the  Suppliants,  Pelasgos  is  the  mythical  king 
of  the  Apian  land  who  receives  them. 

3  Hypermntestra,  who  spared  Lynceus,  and  by  him  became 
the  moiher  of  Abas  and  a  hne  of  Argive  kings. 

*  Heracles,  who  came  to  Caucasos,  and  with  his  arrows  s'ew 
the  eagle  tliat  devt^ured  Prometheus. 
»5' 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Gave  to  mc  ;  but  the  manner  and  the  means,—' 
That  needs  a  lengthy  tale  to  tell  the  whole. 
And  thou  can'st  nothing  gain  by  learning  it. 

lo.  Eleleu!   Oh,  Eleleu!» 
The  throbbing  pain  inflames  me,  and  the  mood 

Of  frenzy-smitten  rage ; 

The  gadfly's  pointed  sting, 

Not  forged  with  fire,  attacks. 
And  my  heart  beats  against  my  breast  with  fear.       "** 

Mine  eyes  whirl  round  and  round : 

Out  of  my  course  I'm  borne 
By  the  wild  spirit  of  fierce  agony. 

And  cannot  curb  my  lips. 
And  turbid  speech  at  random  dashes  on 
Upon  the  waves  of  dread  calamity. 

Strophe  I 

Chor.  Wise,  very  wise  was  he 
Who  first  in  thought  conceived  this  maxim  sage, 

And  spread  it  with  his  speech,^ — 
That  the  best  wedlock  is  with  equals  found. 
And  that  a  craftsman,  born  to  work  with  hands, 

Should  not  desire  to  wed 
Or  with  the  soft  luxurious  heirs  of  wealth,  •"' 

Or  with  the  race  that  boast  their  lineage  high. 

Antistrophe  I 

Oh  ne'er,  oh  ne'er,  dread  Fates, 
May  ye  behold  me  as  the  bride  of  Zeus, 
The  partner  of  his  couch, 

>  The  word  is  simply  an  interjection  of  pain,  but  one  so  charac- 
teristic that  I  have  thought  it  better  to  reproduce  it  than  to  give 
anjr  English  equivalent. 

2  The  maxim,  "  Marry  with  a  woman  thine  equal,"  was  as 
cribed  to  Pittacos. 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Nor  may  I  wed  with  any  heaven-born  spouse! 
For  I  shrink  back,  beholding  lo's  lot 

Of  loveless  maidenhood, 
Consumed  and  smitten  low  exceedingly 
By  the  wild  wanderings  from  great  Hera  sent ! 

Strophe  II 

To  me,  when  wedlock  is  on  equal  terms,  •*' 

It  gives  no  cause  to  fear  : 
Ne'er  may  the  love  of  any  of  the  Gods, 

The  strong  Gods,  look  on  me 

With  glance  I  cannot  'scape ! 

Antistrophe  II 

That  fate  is  war  that  none  can  war  against, 

Source  of  resourceless  ill ; 
Nor  know  I  what  might  then  become  of  me : 

I  see  not  how  to  'scape 

The  counsel  deep  ot  Zeus. 
Prom.  Yea,  of  a  truth  shall  Zeus,  though  stifF  of  will, 
Be  brought  full  low.     Such  bed  of  wedlock  now 
Is  he  preparing,  one  to  cast  him  forth  "'" 

In  darkness  from  his  sovereignty  and  throne. 
And  then  the  curse  his  father  Cronos  spake 
Shall  have  its  dread  completion,  even  that 
He  uttered  when  he  left  his  ancient  throne ; 
And  from  these  troubles  no  one  of  the  Gods 
But  me  can  clearly  show  the  way  to  'scape. 
I  know  the  time  and  manner :  therefore  now 
Let  him  sit  fearless,  in  his  peals  on  high 
Putting  his  trust,  and  shaking  in  his  hands 
His  darts  fire-breathing.     Nought  shall  they  avail 
To  hinder  him  from  falling  shamefully  •* 

A  fall  intolerable.     Such  a  combatant  ^ 

>S3 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

He  arms  against  himself,  a  marvel  dread, 
Who  shall  a  fire  discover  mightier  far 
Than  the  red  levin,  and  a  sound  more  dread 
Than  roaring  of  the  thunder,  and  shall  shiver 
That  plague  sea-born  that  causeth  earth  to  quake. 
The  trident,  weapon  of  Poseidon's  strength  : 
And  stumbling  on  this  evil,  he  shall  learn 
How  far  apart  a  king's  lot  from  a  slave's. 

Chor.  What  thou  dost  wish  thou  mutterest  against 
Zeus. 

Prom.  Things  that  shall  be,  and  things  I  wish,  I 
speak.  ***• 

Chor.  And  must  we  look  for  one  to  master  Zeus  ? 

Prom.  Yea,  troubles  herder  far  than  these  are  his. 

Chor.  Art  not  afraid  to  vent  such  words  as  these  ? 

Prom.  What  can  I  fear  whose  fate  is  not  to  die  ? 

Chor.  But  He  may  send  on  thee  worse  pain  than 
this. 

Prom.  So  let  Him  do:  nought  finds  me  unprepared. 

Chor.  Wisdom  is  theirs  who  Adrasteia  worship.' 

Prom.  Worship  then,  praise  and  flatter  him  that 
rules ; 
My  care  for  Zeus  is  nought,  and  less  than  nought : 
Let  Him  act,  let  Him  rule  this  little  while,  **" 

E'en  as  He  will ;  for  long  He  shall  not  rule 
Over  the  Gods,     But  lo  !  I  see  at  hand 
The  courier  of  the  Gods,  the  minister 
Of  our  new  sovereign.     Doubtless  he  has  come 
To  bring  me  tidings  of  some  new  device. 

1  The  Euhemerism  of  later  scholiasts  derived  the  name  from 
a  king  Adrastos,  who  was  said  to  have  been  the  first  to  build  a 
temple  to  Nemesis,  and  so  the  power  thus  worshipped  was 
called  after  his  name.  A  better  etymology  leads  us  to  see  in  it 
the  idea  of  the  "  inevitable  "  law  of  retribution  working  imseen 
by  men,  and  independently  even  of  the  arbitrary  will  of  the 
Gods,  and  bringing  destruction  upon  the  proud  and  haughty. 
'54 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Enter  Hermes 

Herm.  Thee  do  I  speak  to, — thee,  the  teacher  wise, 
The  bitterly  o'er-bitter,  who  'gainst  Gods 
Hast  sinned  in  giving  gifts  to  short-lived  men — 
J  speak  to  thee,  the  filcher  of  bright  fire. 
The  Father  bids  thee  say  what  marriage  thou 
Dost  vaunt,  and  who  shall  hurl  Him  from  his  might ; 
And  this  too  not  in  dark  mysterious  speech,  '^ 

But  tell  each  point  out  clearly.     Give  me  not, 
Prometheus,  task  of  double  journey.     Zeus 
Thou  see'st,  is  not  with  such  words  appeased. 

Prom.  Stately  of  utterance,  full  of  haughtiness 
Thy  speech,  as  fits  a  messenger  of  Gods. 
Ye  yet  are  young  in  your  new  rule,  and  think 
To  dwell  in  painless  towers.     Have  I  not 
Seen  two  great  rulers  driven  forth  from  thence  ?' 
And  now  the  third,  who  reigneth,  I  shall  see 
In  basest,  quickest  fall.     Seem  I  to  thee  •*• 

To  shrink  and  quail  before  these  new-made  Gods  ? 
Far,  very  far  from  that  am  I.     But  thou. 
Track  once  again  the  path  by  which  thou  earnest ; 
Thou  shalt  learn  nought  of  what  thou  askest  me. 

Herm.  It  was  by  such  self-will  as  this  before 
That  thou  did'st  bring  these  sufferings  on  thyself. 

Prom.  I  for  my  part,  be  sure,  would  never  change 
My  evil  state  for  that  thy  bondslave's  lot. 

Herm.  To  be  the  bondslave  of  this  rock,  I  trow. 
Is  better  than  to  be  Zeus'  trusty  herald !  •''' 

Prom.  So  it  is  meet  the  insulter  to  insult. 

Herm.  Thou  waxest  proud,  'twould  seem,  of  this 
thy  doom. 

Prom.  Wax  proud !   God  grant  that  I  may  see  my  foes 
Thus  waxing  proud,  and  thee  among  the  rest ! 

1  Comp.  Agam.  i6a-6. 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Herm.  Dost  blame  me  then  for  thy  calamities  ? 

Prom.   In  one  short  sentence — all  the  Gods  I  hate, 
Who  my  good  turns  with  evil  turns  repay. 

Herm.  Thy  words  prove  thee  with  no  slight  madness 
plagued. 

Prom.  If  to  hate  foes  be  madness,  mad  I  am. 

Herm.  Not  one  could  bear  thee  wert  thou  pros- 
perous. ^*" 

Prom.   Ah  me ! 

Herm.  That  word  is  all  unknown  to  Zeus. 

Prom.  Time  waxing  old  can  many  a  lesson  teach. 

Herm.    Yet  thou  at  least  hast  not  true  wisdom  learnt. 

Prom.  I  had  not  else  addressed  a  slave  like  thee. 

Herm.  Thou   wilt   say    nought   the    Father    asks, 
'twould  seem. 

Prom.  Fine  debt  I  owe  him,  favour  to  repay. 

Herm.  Me  as  a  boy  thou  scornest  then,  forsooth. 

Prom.  And  art  thou  not  a  boy,  and  sillier  far. 
If  that  thou  thinkest  to  learn  aught  from  me  \ 
There  is  no  torture  nor  device  by  which  ^"^^ 

Zeus  can  impel  me  to  disclose  these  things 
Before  these  bonds  that  outrage  me  be  loosed. 
Let  then  the  blazing  levin-flash  be  hurled  ; 
With  white-winged  snow-storm  and  with  earth-born 

thunders 
Let  Him  disturb  and  trouble  all  that  is ; 
Nought  of  these  things  shall  force  me  to  declare 
Whose  hand  shall  drive  him  from  his  sovereignty. 

Herm.  See  if  thou  findest  any  help  in  this. 

Prom.  Long  since  all  this  I've  seen,  and  formed  my 
plans.  ^""^ 

Herm.  O  fool,  take  heart,  take  heart  at  last  in  time, 
To  form  right  thoughts  for  these  thy  present  woes. 

Prom.  Like  one  who  soothes  a  wave,  thy  speech  in 
vain 

156 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

Vexes  my  soul.     But  deem  not  thou  that  I, 

Fearing  the  will  of  Zeus,  shall  e'er  become 

As  womanised  in  mind,  or  shall  entreat 

Him  whom  I  greatly  loathe,  with  upturned  hand, 

In  woman's  fashion,  from  these  bonds  of  mine 

To  set  me  free.     Far,  far  am  I  from  that. 

Herm.  It  seems  that  I,  saying  much,  shall  speak  in 
vain ; 
For  thou  in  nought  by  prayers  art  pacified, 
Or  softened  in  thy  heart,  but  like  a  colt  "^ 

Fresh  harnessed,  thou  dost  champ  thy  bit,  and  strive. 
And  fight  against  the  reins.     Yet  thou  art  stiff 
In  weak  device  ;  for  self-will,  by  itself, 
In  one  who  is  not  wise,  is  kss  than  nought. 
Look  to  it,  if  thou  disobey  my  words. 
How  great  a  storm  and  triple  wave  of  ills,* 
Not  to  be  'scaped,  shall  come  on  thee  ;  for  first, 
With  thunder  and  the  levin's  blazing  flash 
The  Father  this  ravine  of  rock  shall  crush. 
And  shall  thy  carcase  hide,  and  stern  embrace 
Of  stony  arms  shall  keep  thee  in  thy  place.  '*** 

And  having  traversed  space  of  time  full  long. 
Thou  shah  come  back  to  light,  and  then  his  hound, 
The  winged  hound  of  Zeus,  the  ravening  eagle, 
Shall  greedily  make  banquet  of  thy  flesh, 
Coming  all  day  an  uninvited  guest, 
And  glut  himself  upon  thy  liver  dark. 
And  of  that  anguish  look  not  for  the  end. 
Before  some  God  shall  come  to  bear  thy  woes, 
And  will  to  pass  to  Hades'  sunless  realm, 


1  Either  a  mere  epithet  of  intensity,  as  in  our  "thrice  blest," 
or  rising  from  the  supposed  fact  that  every  third  wave  was  larger 
and  more  impetuous  than  the  others,  like  Xh^fluct-us  decumanus 
of  the  Latins,  or  from  the  sequence  of  three  great  waves  which 
some  have  noted  as  a  common  phenomenon  in  storms. 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

And  the  dark  cloudy  depths  of  Tartaros.'  "^ 

Wherefore  take  heed.     No  feigned  boast  is  this, 

But  spoken  all  too  truly;  for  the  lips 

Of  Zeus  know  not  to  speak  a  lying  speech, 

But  will  perform  each  single  word.     And  thou, 

Search  well,  be  wise,  nor  think  that  self-willed  pride 

Shall  ever  better  prove  than  counsel  good. 

Chor.  To  us  doth  Hermes  seem  to  utter  words 
Not  out  of  season  ;  for  he  bids  thee  quit 
Thy  self-willed  pride  and  seek  for  counsel  good. 
Hearken  thou  to  him.     To  the  wise  of  soul 
It  is  foul  shame  to  sin  persistently.  '***' 

Prom.  To  me  who  knew  it  all 

He  hath  this  message  borne  ; 

And  that  a  foe  from  foes 

Should  suffer  is  not  strange. 

Therefore  on  me  be  hurled 

The  sharp-edged  wreath  of  fire  ; 

And  let  heaven's  vault  be  stirred 

With  thunder  and  the  blasts 

Of  fiercest  winds ;  and  Earth 

From  its  foundations  strong, 

E'en  to  its  deepest  roots. 

Let  storm-wind  make  to  rock  ; 

And  let  the  Ocean  wave, 

With  wild  and  foaming  surge, 

Be  heaped  up  to  the  paths  ^°™ 

Where  move  the  stars  of  heaven  ; 

\nd  to  dark  Tartaros 

Let  Him  my  carcase  hurl, 

^  Here  again  we  have  a  strange  shadowing  forth  of  the  mystery 
of  Atonement,  and  what  we  have  learnt  to  call  "  vicarious  ' 
satisfaction.  In  the  later  legend,  Cheiron,  suffering  from  the 
agony  of  bis  wounds,  resigns  his  immortality,  and  submits  to 
die  in  place  of  the  ever-living  death  to  which  Prometheus  was 
doomed. 

«S8 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

With  mighty  blasts  offeree: 
"Yet  me  He  shall  not  slay, 

Herm.  Such  words  and  thoughts  from  one 
Brain-stricken  one  may  hear. 
What  space  divides  his  state 
From  frenzy  ?     What  repose 
Hath  he  from  maddened  rage? 
But  ye  who  pitying  stand 
And  share  his  bitter  griefs, 
Quickly  from  hence  depart, 
Lest  the  relentless  roar 
Of  thunder  stun  your  soul. 

Chor.  With  other  words  attempt 
To  counsel  and  persuade. 
And  I  will  hear :  for  now 
Thou  hast  this  word  thrust  in 
That  we  may  never  bear. 
How  dost  thou  bid  me  train 
My  soul  to  baseness  vile  ? 
With  him  I  will  endure 
Whatever  is  decreed. 
Traitors  I've  learnt  to  hate, 
Nor  is  there  any  plague 
That  more  than  this  I  loathe. 

Herm.  Nay  then,  remember  ye 
What  now  I  say,  nor  blame 
Your  fortune  :  never  say 
That  Zeus  hath  cast  you  down 
To  evil  not  foreseen. 
Not  so ;  ye  cast  yourselves : 
For  now  with  open  eyes, 
Not  taken  unawares, 
In  Ati's  endless  net 
Ye  shall  entangled  be 
By  folly  of  your  own. 
»S9 


PROMETHEUS   BOUND 

[j^  pause,  and  then  flashes  of  lightning  and 
peals  of  thunder  ^ 

T'rom.   Yea,  now  in  very  deed, 
No  more  in  word  alone, 
The  earth  shakes  to  and  fro, 
And  the  loud  thunder's  voice 
Bellows  hard  by,  and  blaze 
The  flashing  levin-fires ; 
And  tempests  whirl  the  dust. 
And  gusts  of  all  wild  winds 
On  one  another  leap, 
In  wild  conflicting  blasts, 
And  sky  with  sea  is  blent : 
Such  is  the  storm  from  Zeus  '"• 

That  comes  as  working  fear. 
In  terrors  manifest. 
O  Mother  venerable  ! 
O  -^ther  !  rolling  round 
The  common  light  of  all, 
See'st  thou  what  wrongs  I  bear  ? 


1  II  is  noticeable  that  both  ^schylos  and  Sophocles  have  left 
lis  tragedies  which  end  in  a  thunderstorm  as  an  element  of  effect. 
But  the  contrast  between  the  Prometheus  and  the  (Edipus  at 
Culonos  as  to  the  impression  left  in  ihe  one  case  of  serene  recon- 
ciliation, and  in  the  other  of  violent  antagonism,  is  hardly  Ic? 
striking  than  the  resemblance  in  the  outwaid  phenomena  whicb 
«re  common  to  the  two. 


i6o 


THE  SUPPLIANTS 

DRAMATIS   PERSONiE 

Danaos         Pelasgos,  >it«^(yArgos 

Herald  Chorus  of  the  daughters  of  Danaos 

ARGUMENT. —  When  lo,  after  many  wanderings,  had 
found  refuge  in  Egypt,  and  having  been  touched  by  Zeus, 
had  given  birth  to  Epaphos,  it  came  to  pass  that  he  and 
his  descendants  ruled  over  the  region  of  Canopos,  near  one 
of  the  seven  mouths  of  Neilos,  And  in  the  fifth  genera- 
tion there  were  two  brothers,  Danaos  and  Aigyptos,  the 
sons  of  Belos,  and  the  former  had  fifty  daughters  and  the 
latter  fifty  sons,  and  ^gyptos  sought  the  daughters  of 
Danaos  in  marriage  for  his  sons.  And  they,  looking  on 
the  marriage  as  unholy,  and  hating  those  who  wvoed 
them,  took  flight  and  came  to  Argos,  where  Pelasgos  then 
ruled  as  king,  as  to  the  land  whence  lo,  from  whom  they 
sprang,  had  come.  And  thither  the  sons  of  Aigyptoi 
followed  them  in  hot  pursuit. 


t6i 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Scene. — Argos,  the  entrance  of  the  gates.  Statues  o/'Zeus, 
Artemis,  and  other  Gods,  placed  against  the  loalls 

Enter  Chorus  of  the  Daughters  of  Danaos,'  in  the  dress 
of  Egyptian  women,  with  the  boughs  of  suppliants  in 
their  hands,  and  fillets  of  white  wool  twisted  round 
them,  chanting  as  they  move  in  procession  to  take  up 
their  position  round  the  thymele 

Zeus,  the  God  of  Suppliants,  kindly- 
Look  on  this  our  band  of  wanderers. 
That  from  banks  at  mouths  of  Neilos, 
Banks  of  finest  sand,  departed!^ 
Yea,  we  left  the  region  sacred, 
Grassy  plain  on  Syria's  borders,' 
Not  for  guilt  of  blood  to  exile 
By  our  country's  edict  sentenced. 
But  with  free  choice,  loathing  wedlock, 
Fleeing  marriage-rites  unholy 
With  the  children  of  ^gyptos.  ** 

And  our  father  Danaos,  ruler. 
Chief  of  council,  chief  of  squadrons, 

'  The  daughters  of  Danaos  are  always  represented  as  fifty  in 
number.  It  seems  probable,  however,  that  the  vocal  chorus  was 
limited  to  twelve,  the  others  appear  ng  as  mutes. 

'  The  alluvial  dejjosit  of  the  Delta. 

'  Syria  is  used  obviously  with  a  certain  geographical  vague- 
ness, as  including  all  that  we  know  as  Palestine,  and  the  wilder- 
ness to  the  south  of  it,  and  so  as  conterminous  with  Egypt. 
163 


THE  SUPPLIANTS 

Playing  moves  on  fortune's  draught-board,' 
Chose  what  seemed  the  best  of  evils. 
Through  the  salt  sea-waves  to  hasten. 
Steering  to  the  land  of  Argos, 
Whence  our  race  has  risen  to  greatness ; 
Sprung,  so  boasts  it,  from  the  heifer 
Whom  the  stinging  gadfly  harassed. 
By  the  touch  of  Zeus  love-breathing  :' 
And  to  what  land  more  propitious 
'  Could  we  come  than  this  before  us,  ^ 

Holding  in  our  hand  the  branches 
Suppliant,  wreathed  with  white  wool  fillets  ? 
O  State  !  O  land  !  O  water  gleaming  ! 
Ye  the  high  Gods,  ye  the  awful. 
In  the  dark  the  graves  still  guarding  ; 
Thou  too  with  them,  Zeus  Preserver,^ 
Guardian  of  the  just  man's  dVvelling, 
Welcome  with  the  breath  of  pity. 
Pity  as  from  these  shores  wafted. 
Us  poor  women  who  are  suppliants. 
And  that  swarm  of  men  that  follow. 
Haughty  offspring  of  ^gyptos,  ■' 

Ere  they  set  their  foot  among  you 
On  this  silt-strown  shore,'* — oh,  send  them 

1  Elsewhere  in  ^schylos  {Agam.  33,  Fr.  132)  we  trace 
allusion  to  games  played  with  dice.  Here  we  have  a  reference 
to  one,  the  details  of  which  are  not  accurately  known  to  us,  but 
which  seems  to  have  been  analogous  to  draughts  or  chess. 

2  See  the  whole  story,  given  as  in  prophecy,  in  the  Prometheus, 
V.  865-880, 

3  The  invocation  is  addressed — (i)  to  the  Olympian  Gods  in 
the  brightness  of  heaven ;  (2)  to  the  Chthonian  deities  in  the 
darkness  below  the  earth ;  (3)  to  Zeus,  the  preserver,  as  the 
supreme  Lord  of  both. 

••  An  Athenian  audience  would  probably  recogni.se  in  this  a 
description  o''  the  swampy  meadows  near  the  coast  of  Lema. 
164 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Seaward  in  their  ship  swift-rowing  ; 
There,  with  whirlwind. tempest-driven, 
There,  with  lightning  and  with  thunder. 
There,  with  blasts  that  bring  the  storm-rain, 
May  they  in  the  fierce  sea  perish. 
Ere  they,  cousin-brides  possessing. 
Rest  on  marriage-beds  reluctant. 
Which  the  voice  of  right  denies  them  ! 

Strophe  I 

And  now  I  call  on  him,  the  Zeus-sprung  steer,'         *" 
Our  true  protector,  far  beyond  the  sea, 
Child  of  the  heifer-foundress  of  our  line. 

Who  cropped  the  flowery  mead. 
Born  of  the  breath,  and  named  from  touch  of  Zeus. 

*And  lo  !  the  destined  time 

•Wrought  fully  with  the  name. 
And  she  brought  forth  the  "  Touch-born,"  Epaphos. 

Antistkophe  I 

And  now  invoking  him  in  grassy  fields,  * 

Where  erst  his  mother  strayed,  to  dwellers  here 
Telling  the  tale  of  all  her  woes  of  old, 

I  surest  pledge  shall  give  ; 
And  others,  strange  beyond  all  fancy's  dream, 

Shall  yet  perchance  be  found  ; 

And  in  due  course  of  time 
Shall  men  know  clearly  all  our  history. 


The  descendants  of  To  had  come  to  the  very  spot  where  the 
tragic  history  of  their  ancestors  had  had  its  origin. 

1  The  invocation  passes  on  to  Epaphos,  as  a  guardian  deity 
able  and  willing  to  succour  his  afflicted  children. 
'6s 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Strophe  II 

And  if  some  augur  of  the  land  be  near, 

Hearing  our  piteous  cry, 

Sure  he  will  deem  he  hears 

The  voice  of  Tereus'  bride,* 

Piteous  and  sad  of  soul, 
The  nightingale  sore  harassed  by  the  kite.  *" 

Antistrophk  II 

*For  she,  driven  back  from  wonted  haunts  and  streams,'' 

Mourns  with  a  strange  new  plaint 

The  home  that  she  has  lost. 

And  wails  her  son's  sad  doom, 

How  he  at  her  hand  died. 
Meeting  with  evil  wrath  unmotherly  ; 

Strophe  III 

E'en  so  do  I,  to  wailing  all  o'er-given, 

In  plaintive  music  of  Ionian  mood,' 

*Vex  the  soft  cheek  on  Neilos'  banks  that  bloomed, 

And  heart  that  bursts  in  tears, 
And  pluck  the  flowers  of  lamentations  loud. 

Not  without  fear  of  friends,  ™ 

*Lest  none  should  care  to  help 
This  flight  of  mine  from  that  mist-shrouded  shore. 

Antistrophe  III 

But,  O  ye  Gods  ancestral  !  hear  my  prayer, 
Look  well  upon  the  justice  of  our  cause, 

1  Philomela    See  the  tale  as  given  in  the  notes  to  yi^aw.  1113. 

2  "  Streams,"  as  flowing  through  the  shady  solitude  of  the 
jjroves  which  the  nightingale  frequented. 

*  "Ionian,"  as  soft  and  elegiac,   in  contrast  witli  the  more 
military  character  of  Dorian  musia 
166 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Nor  grant  to  youth  to  gain  its  full  desire 

Against  the  laws  of  right, 
But  with  prompt  hate  of  lust,  oiir  marriage  bless. 

*Even  for  those  who  come 

As  fugitive?  in  war 
The  altar  serves  as  shield  that  Gods  regard. 

Strophe  IV 

May  God  good  issue  give  !  ^ 
And  yet  the  will  of  Zeus  is  hard  to  scan  : 

Through  all  it  brightly  gleams. 
E'en  though  in  darkness  and  the  gloom  of  chance 

For  us  poor  mortals  wrapt. 

Antistrophk  IV 

Safe,  by  no  fall  tripped  up, 
The  full-wrought  deed  decreed  by  brow  of  Zeus  ; 

For  dark  with  shadows  stretch 
The  pathways  of  the  counsels  of  his  heart, 

And  difficult  to  see. 

Strophe  V 

And  from  high-towering  hopes  He  hurleth  down 
To  utter  doom  the  heir  of  mortal  birth  ; 

Yet  sets  He  in  array 

No  forces  violent ; 
All  that  Gods  work  is  eft'ortless  and  calm : 

Seated  on  holiest  throne. 

Thence,  though  we  know  not  how, 

He  works  His  perfect  will. 


1  In  the  Greek  >he  paronomasia  turns  upon  the  supposed 
etymological  connection  between  fltis  and  rt^fii.  I  have  here, 
as  elsewhere,  attempted  an  analogous  rather  than  identical 
jeu  de  mot. 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Antistrophe  V 

Ah,  let  him  look  on  frail  man's  wanton  pride, 
With  which  the  old  stock  burgeons  out  anew. 

By  love  for  me  constrained. 

In  counsels  ill  and  rash,  '* 

And  in  its  frenzied,  passionate  resolve 

Finds  goad  it  cannot  shun  ; 

But  in  deceived  hopes, 

Shall  know,  too  late,  its  woe. 

Strophe  VI 

Such  bitter  griefs,  lamenting,  I  recount. 

With  cries  shrill,  tearful,  deep, 
(Ah  woe  !  ah  woe  !) 
That  strike  the  ear  with  mourner's  woe-fraught  cry. 
Though  yet  alive,  I  wail  mine  obsequies ; 

Thee,  Apian  sea-girt  blufF,^ 

I  greet  (our  alien  speech 

Thou  knowest  well,  O  land,)  "° 

And  ofttimes  fall,  with  rendings  passionate. 
On  robe  of  linen  and  Sidonian  veil. 

Antistrophe  VI 

But  to  the  Gods,  for  all  things  prospering  well, 

When  death  is  kept  aloof, 

Gifts  votive  come  of  right. 

Ah  woe  !  Ah  woe  ! 
Oh,  troubles  dark,  and  hard  to  understand ! 


1  The  Greek  word  which  I  have  translated  "  bluff"  was  one 
not  familiar  to  Attic  ears,  and  was  believed  to  be  of  Kyrenean 
origin.  ^Eschylos  accordingly  puts  it  into  the  lips  of  the 
daughters  of  Danaos,  as  characteristic  more  or  less  of  the 
"  alien  speech  "  of  the  land  from  which  they  came. 
1 68 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Ah,  whither  will  these  waters  carry  me  ? 

Thee,  Apian  sea-girt  bluff,  '* 

I  greet  (our  alien  speech 

Thou  knowest  well,  O  land,) 
And  ofttimes  fall,  with  rendings  passionate, 
On  robe  of  linen  and  Sidonian  veil. 

Strophe  VII 

The  oar  indeed  and  dwelling,  timber-wrought, 
With  sails  of  canvas,  'gainst  the  salt  sea  proof 

Brought  me  with  favouring  gales, 

By  stormy  wind  unvexed  ; 
Nor  have  I  cause  for  murmur.     Issues  good 
May  He,  the  all-seeing  Father,  grant,  that  I,  '*• 

Great  seed  of  Mother  dread, 
In  time  may  'scape,  still  maiden  undefiled, 

My  suitor's  marriage-bed. 

Antistrophk  VII 

And  with  a  will  that  meets  my  will  may  She, 
The  unstained  child  of  Zeus,  on  me  look  down, 

*Our  Artemis,  who  guards 

The  consecrated  walls ; 
And  with  all  strength,  though  hunted  down,  uncaught. 
May  She,  the  Virgin,  me  a  virgin  free,  *** 

Great  seed  of  Mother  dread. 
That  I  may  'scape,  still  maiden  undefiled. 

My  suitor's  marriage-bed. 

Strophe  VIII 

But  if  this  may  not  be. 
We,  of  swarth  sun-burnt  race, 
169 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

Will  with  our  suppliant  branches  go  to  him, 

Zeus,  sovereign  of  the  dead,^ 
The  Lord  that  welcomes  all  that  come  to  him, 

Dying  by  twisted  noose  ^^ 

If  we  the  grace  of  Gods  Olympian  miss. 
By  thine  ire,  Zeus,  'gainst  lo  virulent, 

The  Gods'  wrath  seeks  us  out, 

And  I  know  well  the  woe 
Comes  from  thy  queen  who  reigns  in  heaven  victorious ; 

For  after  stormy  wind 

The  tempest  needs  must  rage. 

Antistrophe  VIIl 

And  then  shall  Zeus  to  words 

Unseemly  be  exposed, 
Having  the  heifer's  offspring  put  to  shame,  '^ 

Whom  he  himself  begat. 
And  now  his  face  averting  from  our  prayers : 

Ah,  may  he  hear  on  high. 
Yea,  pitying  look  and  hear  propitiously ! 
By  thine  ire,  Zeus,  'gainst  lo  virulent, 

The  Gods'  wrath  seeks  us  out, 

And  I  know  well  the  woe 
Comes  from  thy  queen,  who  reigns  in  heaven  victorious ; 

For  after  stormy  wind  "" 

The  tempest  needs  must  rage, 
Danaos.  My  children,  we  need  wisdom  ;  lo !  ye  came 
With  me,  your  father  wise  and  old  and  true, 
As  guardian  of  your  voyage.     Now  ashore. 
With  forethought  true  I  bid  you  keep  my  words, 

1  So  in  V.  235  Danaos  speaks  of  the  "second  Zeus"  who  sits 
as  Judge  in  Hades.  The  feeling  to  which  the  Chorus  gives 
Utterance  is  that  of — 

"  Flectere  si  nequeo  superos,  Acheronta  movebo. " 

170 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

As  in  a  tablet-book  recording  them  : 

I  see  a  dust,  an  army's  voiceless  herald, 

Nor  are  the  axles  silent  as  they  turn  ; 

And  I  descry  a  host  that  bear  the  shield. 

And  those  that  hurl  the  javelin,  marching  on 

With  horses  and  with  curved  battle-cars. 

Perchance  they  are  the  princes  of  this  land,  '** 

Come  on  the  watch,  as  having  news  of  us ; 

But  whether  one  in  kindly  mood,  or  hot 

With  anger  fierce,  leads  on  this  great  array, 

It  is,  my  children,  best  on  all  accounts 

To  take  your  stand  hard  by  this  hill  of  Gods 

Who  rule  o'er  conflicts.^     Better  far  than  towers 

Are  altars,  yea,  a  shield  impenetrable. 

But  with  all  speed  approach  the  shrine  of  Zeus, 

The  God  of  mercy,  in  your  left  hand  holding 

The  suppliants'  boughs  wool-wreathed,  in  solemn  guise,* 

And  greet  our  hosts  as  it  is  meet  for  us,  "* 

Coming  as  strangers,  with  all  duteous  words 

Kindly  and  holy,  telling  them  your  tale 

Of  this  your  flight,  unstained  by  guilt  of  blood ; 

And  with  your  speech,  let  mood  not  over-bold. 

Nor  vain  nor  wanton,  shine  from  modest  brow 

And  calm,  clear  eye.     And  be  not  prompt  to  speak, 

Nor  full  of  words ;  the  race  that  dwelleth  here 

Of  this  is  very  jealous :'  and  be  mindful 

Much  to  concede  ;  a  fugitive  thou  art, 

1  Some  mound  dedicated  to  the  Gods,  with  one  or  more  altars 
and  statues  of  the  Gods  on  it,  is  on  the  stage,  and  the  suppliants 
are  told  to  take  up  their  places  there.  The  Gods  of  conflict  who 
are  named  below,  Zeus,  Apollo,  Poseidjn,  presided  gentrally 
over  the  three  great  games  of  Greece.  Hermes  is  added  to  the 
list. 

'  Comp.  Libation-Pourers,  1024,  Eumen.  44. 

*  The  Argives  are  supposed  to  share  the  love  of  brevity  which 
we  commonly  connect  with  their  neighbours  the  Laconians. 
17» 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

A  stranger  and  in  want,  and  'tis  not  meet 

That  those  in  low  estate  high  words  should  speak. 

Ckor.  My  father,  to  the  prudent  prudently  ** 

Thou  speakest,  and  my  task  shall  be  to  keep 
Thy  goodly  precepts.     Zeus,  our  sire,  look  on  us ! 

Dan.  Yea,  may  He  look  with  favourable  eye! 

Choi:  I  fain  would  take  my  seat  not  far  from  thee. 
[^Chorus  moves  to  the  altar  not  far  Jrom 
Danaos 

Dan.  Delay  not  then  ;  success  go  with  your  plan. 

Chor.  Zeus,  pity  us  with  sorrow  all  but  crushed ! 

Dan.  If  He  be  willing,  all  shall  turn  out  well. 

Chor.  ..... 

Dan.  Invoke  ye  now  the  mighty  bird  of  Zeus.^ 

Chor.  We  call  the  sun's  bright  rays  to  succour  us. 

Dau.  Apollo  too,  the  holy,  in  that  He,  '"° 

A  God,  has  tasted  exile  from  high  heaven.* 

Chor.  Knowing  that  fate.  He  well  may  feel  for  men. 

Dan.  So  may  He  feel,  and  look  on  us  benignly ! 

Chor.  Whom  of  the  Gods  shall  I  besides  invoke  ? 

Dan.   I  see  this  trident  here,  a  God's  great  symbol.' 

Chor.  Well  hath  He  brought  us,  well  may  He  receive ! 

Dan.  Here  too  is  Hermes,*  as  the  Hellenes  know  him. 

1  The  "  mighty  bird  of  Zeus  "  seems  here,  from  the  answer  of 
the  Chorus,  to  mean  not  the  "eagle"  but  the  "sun,"  which 
roused  men  from  their  sleep  as  the  cock  did,  so  that  "cock- 
crow" and  "sunrise"  were  synonymous.  It  is,  in  any  case, 
striking  that  Zeus,  rather  than  Apollo,  appears  as  the  Sun-God. 

2  The  words  refer  to  the  myth  of  Apollo's  banishment  from 
heaven  and  servitude  under  Admetos. 

s  In  the  Acropolis  at  Athens  the  impress  of  a  trident  was  seen 
on  the  rock,  and  was  believed  to  commemorate  the  time  wi  en 
Poseidon  had  claimed  it  as  his  own  by  setting  up  his  weapon 
there.  .Something  of  the  same  kind  seems  here  to  be  supposed 
to  exist  at  Argos,  where  a  like  legend  prevailt  d. 

••  The  Hellenic  Hermes  is  distinguished  from  his  Egyptian 
counterpart,  Thoth,  as  being  different  in  form  and  accessories. 
172 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

Chor.  To  us,  as  free,  let  Him  good  herald  prove. 

Dan.  Yea,  and  the  common  shrine  of  all  these  Gods 
Adore  ye,  and  in  holy  precincts  sit. 
Like  swarms  of  doves  in  fear  of  kites  your  kinsmen,  ^^ 
Foes  of  our  blood,  polluters  of  our  race. 
How  can  bird  prey  on  bird  and  yet  be  pure  ? 
And  how  can  he  be  pure  who  seeks  in  marriage 
Unwilling  bride  from  father  too  unwilling  ? 
Nay,  not  in  Hades'  self,  shall  he,  vain  fool, 
Though  dead,  'scape  sentence,  doing  deeds  like  this  ; 
For  there,  as  men  relate,  a  second  Zeus^ 
Judges  men's  evil  deeds,  and  to  the  dead 
Assigns  their  last  great  penalties.     Look  up. 
And  take  your  station  here,  that  this  your  cause 
May  win  its  way  to  a  victorious  end. 

Enter  the  King  on  his  charioty  followed  by  Attendants 

King.  Whence  comes  this  crowd,  this  non-Hellenic 
band,  »» 

In  robes  and  raiment  of  barbaric  fashion 
So  gorgeously  attired,  whom  now  we  speak  to  ? 
This  woman's  dress  is  not  of  Argive  mode. 
Nor  from  the  climes  of  Hellas.     How  ye  dared. 
Without  a  herald  even  or  protector. 
Yea,  and  devoid  of  guides  too,  to  come  hither 
Thus  boldly,  is  to  me  most  wonderful. 
And  yet  these  boughs,  as  is  the  suppliant's  wont, 
Are  set  by  you  before  the  Gods  of  conflicts : 
By  this  alone  will  Hellas  guess  aright. 
Much  more  indeed  we  might  have  else  conjectured,  "^ 
Were  there  no  voice  to  tell  me  on  the  spot. 

Chor.  Not  false  this  speech  of  thine  about  our  garb  ; 

1  A  possible  reference  to  the  Egyptian  Osiris,  as  lord  or  judge 
of  Hades.    Conip.  v.  145. 

173 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

But  shall  I  greet  thee  as  a  citizen, 

Or  bearing  Hermes'  rod,  or  city  ruling  ?' 

King.  Nay,  for  that  matter,  answer  thou  and  speak 
Without  alarm.     Palaschthon's  son  am  I, 
Earth-born,  the  king  of  this  Pelasgic  land ; 
And  named  from  me,  their  king,^  as  well  might  be. 
The  race  Pelasgic  reaps  our  country's  fruits ; 
*And  all  the  land  through  which  the  Strymon  pours  ^ 
Its  pure,  clear  waters  to  the  West  I  rule ; 
And  as  the  limits  of  my  realm  I  mark 
The  land  of  the  Perrhasbi,  and  the  climes 
Near  the  Paeonians,  on  the  farther  side 
Of  Pindos,  and  the  Dodonaean  heights ;  ^ 
And  the  sea's  waters  form  its  bounds.     O'er  all 
Within  these  coasts  I  govern  ;  and  this  plain. 
The  Apian  land,  itself  has  gained  its  name 
Long  since  from  one  who  as  a  healer  lived ;  * 
For  Apis,  coming  from  Naupactian  land 
That  lies  beyond  the  straits,  Apollo's  son, 
Prophet  and  healer,  frees  this  land  of  ours  *" 

From  man-destroying  monsters,  which  the  soil, 
Polluted  with  the  guilt  of  blood  of  old. 
By  anger  of  the  Gods,  brought  forth, — fierce  plagues. 


1  "Shall  I,"  the  Chorus  asks,  "speak  to  you  as  a  private 
citizen,  or  as  a  herald,  or  as  a  king  ?" 

2  It  would  appear  from  this  that  the  king  himself  bore  the 
rame  Pelasgos.    In  some  versions  of  the  story  he  is  so  designated 

'  The  lines  contain  a  tradition  of  the  wide  extent  of  the  old 
Pelasgic  rule,  including Thessalia,  or  the  Pelasgic  Argos,  between 
the  mouths  of  Peneus  and  Pindos,  Perrhaebia,  Dodona,  and 
finally  the  Apian  land  or  Peloponnesos. 

*  The  true  meaning  of  the  word  "  Apian,"  as  applied  to  the 
Peloponnesos,  seems  to  have  been  "distant."  Here  the  myth 
is  followed  which  represented  it  as  connected  with  Apis  the  son 
of  Telchin  (son  of  Apollo,  in  the  sense  of  being  a  physician- 
prophet),  who  had  freed  the  land  from  monsters. 
174 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

The  dragon-brood's  dread,  unblest  company  ; 

And  Apis,  having  for  this  Argive  land 

Duly  wrought  out  his  saving  surgery, 

Gained  his  reward,  remembered  in  our  prayers  ; 

And  thou,  this  witness  having  at  my  hands, 

May'st  tell  thy  race  at  once,  and  further  speak  ; 

Yet  lengthened  speech  our  city  loveth  not. 

Chor.  Full  short  and  clear  our  tale.  We  boast  that  we 
Are  Argives  in  descent,  the  children  true  *™ 

Of  the  fair,  fruitful  heifer.     And  all  this 
Will  I  by  what  I  speak  show  firm  and  true. 

King.  Nay,  strangers,  what  ye  tell  is  past  belief 
For  me  to  hear,  that  ye  from  Argos  spring  ; 
For  ye  to  Libyan  women  are  most  like,' 
And  nowise  to  our  native  maidens  here. 
Such  race  might  Neilos  breed,  and  Kyprian  mould. 
Like  yours,  is  stamped  by  skilled  artificers 
On  women's  features  ;  and  I  hear  that  those 
Of  India  travel  upon  camels  borne,  *** 

Swift  as  the  horse,  yet  trained  as  sumpter-mules, 
E'en  those  who  as  the  .^thiops'  neighbours  dwell. 
And  had  ye  borne  the  bow,  I  should  have  guessed, 
Undoubting,  ye  were  of  th'  Amazon's  tribe, 
Man-hating,  flesh-devouring.     Taught  by  you, 
I  might  the  better  know  how  this  can  be. 
That  your  descent  and  birth  from  Argos  come. 

Chor.  They  tell  of  one  who  bore  the  temple-keys 
Of  Hera,  lo,  in  this  Argive  land. 

King.  So  was't  indeed,  and  wide  the  fame  prevails  : 
And  was  it  said  that  Zeus  a  mortal  loved  ?  ''^ 

Chor.  And  that  embrace  was  not  from  Hera  hid. 


1  The  description  would  seem  to  indicate — (i)  that  thedaughter 
of  Danaos  appeared  on  the  stage  as  of  swarthy  complexion  ;  and 
(a)  that  Indians,  /Ethiopians,  Kyprians,  and  Amazons,  were  all 
thought  of  as  in  this  respect  alike. 
>7S 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

King.  What  end  had  then  these  strifes  of  sovereign 

Ones  ? 
Chor.  The  Argive  goddess  made  the  maid  a  heifer. 
King. '  Did  Zeus  that  fair-horned  heifer  still 

approach  ? 
Chor.  So  say  they,  fashioned  like  a  wooing  steer. 
King.  How  acted  then  the  mighty  spouse  of  Zeus  ? 
Chor.  She  o'er  the  heifer  set  a  guard  all-seeing. 
King.  What  herdsman  strange,  all-seeing,  speak'st 

thou  of? 
Chor.  Argos,  the  earth-born,  him    whom    Hermes 

slew.  "^ 

King.  What  else  then  wrought  she  on  the  ill-starred 

heifer  ? 
Chor.  She  sent  a  stinging  gadfly  to  torment  her. 

[Those  who  near  Neilos  dwell  an  astros  call  it.] 
King.  Did  she  then  drive  her  from  her  country  far  ? 
Chor.  All  that  thou  say'st  agrees  well  with  our  tale. 
King.  And  did  she  to  Canobos  go,  and  Memphis  ? 
Chor.  Zeus  with  his  touch,  an  offspring  then  begets. 
King.  What  Zeus-born  calf  that  heifer   claims  as 

mother  ? 
Chor.  *He  from  that  touch  which  freed  named  Epa- 

phos.  *'» 

King.  \_lVhat  offspring  then  did  Epaphos  beget  r*]' 
Chor.  Libya,  that  gains  her  fame  from  greatest  land. 
King.  What  other  offspring,  born  of  her,  dost  tell  of? 
Chor.  Sire  of  my  sire  here,  Belos,  with  two  sons. 
King.  Tell  me  then  now  the  name  of  yonder  sage. 
Chor.  Danaos,  whose  brother  boasts  of  fifty  sons. 
King.  Tell  me  his  name,  too,  with  ungrudging 

speech. 


1  The  line  is  conjectural,  but  some  question  of  this  kind  is 
implied  in  the  answer  of  the  Chorus. 
176 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Chor.  ^gyptos :  knowing  now  our  ancient  stock, 
Take  heed  thou  bid  thine  Argive  suppliants  rise. 

King.  Ye  seem,  indeed,  to  make  your  ancient  claim 
To  this  our  country  good  :  but  how  came  ye  '^ 

To  leave  your  father's  house  ?     What  chance  con- 
strained you  ? 
Chor.  O  king  of  the  Pelasgi,  manifold 
Are  ills  of  mortals,  and  thou  could'st  not  find 
The  self-same  form  of  evil  anywhere. 
Who  would  have  said  that  this  unlooked-for  flight 
Would  bring  to  Argos  race  once  native  here, 
Driving  them  forth  in  hate  of  wedlock's  couch  ? 
King.  What  seek'st  thou  then  of  these  the  Gods  o{ 
conflicts. 
Holding  your  wool-wreathed  branches  newly-plucked  ? 
Chor.  That  I  serve  not  ^Egyptos'  sons  as  slave. 
King.  Speak'st  thou  of  some  old  feud,  or  breach  of 
right  ?  ^ 

Chor.  Nay,  who'd  find  fault  with  master  that  one 

loved  ? 
King.  Yet  thus  it  is  that  mortals  grow  in  strength.' 
Chor.  True  ;    when  men   fail,   'tis    easy  to   desert 

them. 
King.  How  then  to  you  may  I  act  reverently  ? 
Chor.  Yield  us  not  up  unto  ^gyptos'  sons. 
King.  Hard  boon  thou  ask'st,to  wage  so  strange  a  war. 
Chor.  Nay,  Justice  champions  those  who  fight  with 

her. 
King.  Yes,  if  her  hand  was  in  it  from  the  first. 
Chor.  Yet  reverence  thou  the  state-ship's  stern  thus 
wreathed.^ 

^  By  sacrificing  personal  likings  to  schemes  of  ambition,  men 
and  women  contract  marriages  which  increase  their  pKjwer. 

*  The  Gods  of  conflict  are  the  pilots  of  the  ship  of  the  State. 
The  altar  dedicated  to  them  is  as  its  stem  :  the  garlands  and 
I  177  M 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

King.  I    tremble  as   I  see  these  seats    thus  shad- 
owed. ^ 
Strophe  I 

Chor.  Dread  is  the  wrath  of  Zeus,  the  God  of  sup- 
pliants : 
Son  of  Palaschthon,  hear  ; 
Hear,  O  Pelasgic  king,  with  kindly  heart. 
Behold  me  suppliant,  exile,  wanderer, 
*Like  heifer  chased  by  wolves 
Upon  the  lofty  crags. 
Where,  trusting  in  her  strength, 
She  lifteth  up  her  voice 
And  to  the  shepherd  tells  her  tale  of  grief. 

King.  I   see,   o'ershadowed  with  the  new-plucked 
boughs, 
•Bent  low,  a  band  these  Gods  of  conflict  own  ; 
And  may  our  dealings  with  these  home-sprung  stran- 
gers **• 
Be  without  peril,  nor  let  strife  arise 
To  this  our  country  for  unlooked-for  chance 
And  unprovided  !     This  our  State  wants  not. 

Antistrophe  I 

Chor.  Yea,  may  that  Law  that  guards  the  suppliant's 
right 
Free  this  our  flight  from  harm. 
Law,  sprung  from  Zeus,  supreme  Apportioner, 
But  thou,  \to  the  King,"]  though  old,  from  me,  though 
younger,  learn  : 
If  thou  a  suppliant  pity 
Thou  ne'er  shalt  penury  know, 
So  long  as  Gods  receive 

wands  of  suppliants  which  adorn  it  are  as  th?  decprjitions  of  the 
yessels. 

178 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Within  their  sacred  shrines 
Gifts  at  the  hands  of  worshipper  unstained. 

King.  It  is  not  at  my  hearth  ye  suppliant  sit  ; 
But  if  the  State  be  as  a  whole  defiled,  "* 

Be  it  the  people's  task  to  work  the  cure. 
I  cannot  pledge  my  promise  to  you  first 
Ere  I  have  counselled  with  my  citizens.' 

Stkophe  II 

Chor.  Thou  art  the  State — yea,  thou  the  common- 
wealth, 
Chief  lord  whom  none  may  judge  ; 
'Tis  thine  to  rule  the  country's  altar-hearth, 
With  the  sole  vote  of  thy  prevailing  nod ; 
And  thou  on  throne  of  state, 
Sole-sceptred  in  thy  sway, 
Bringest  each  matter  to  its  destined  end ; 
Shun  thou  the  curse  of  guilt. 
King.  Upon  my  foes  rest  that  dread  curse  of  guilt !   ^° 
Yet  without  harm  I  cannot  succour  you. 
Nor  gives  it  pleasure  to  reject  your  prayers. 
In  a  sore  strait  am  I ;  fear  fills  my  soul 
To  take  the  chance,  to  do  or  not  to  do. 

Antistrophk  II 
Chor.  Look  thou  on  Him  who  looks  on  all  from 
heaven. 
Guardian  of  suffering  men 
Who,  worn  with  toil,  unto  their  neighbours  come 

1  Some  editors  have  seen  in  this  an  attempt  to  enlist  the  con- 
stitutional sympathies  of  an  Athenian  audience  in  favour  of  the 
Argive  king,  who  will  not  act  without  consulting  his  assembly. 
There  seems  more  reason  to  think  that  the  aim  of  the  dramatist 
was  in  precisely  the  opposite  direction,  and  that  the  words 
which  follow  set  forth  his  admiration  for  the  king  who  can  act, 
as  compared  vritb  one  who  is  tied  and  hampered  by  restrictions. 
»79 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

As  suppliants,  and  receive  not  justice  due : 

For  these  the  wrath  of  Zeus, 

Zeus,  the  true  suppliant's  God, 
Abides,  by  wail  of  sufferer  unappeased.  **' 

King.  Yet  if  vEgyptos'  sons  have  claim  on  thee 
By  their  State's  law,  asserting  that  they  come 
As  next  of  kin,  who  dare  oppose  their  right : 
Thou  must  needs  plead  that  by  thy  laws  at  home 
They  over  thee  have  no  authority.' 

Strophe  III 

Chor.  Ah !  may  I  ne'er  be  captive  to  the  might 
Of  males  !     Where'er  the  stars 
Are  seen  in  heaven,  I  track  my  way  in  flight, 
As  refuge  from  a  marriage  that  I  hate. 

But  thou,  make  Right  thy  friend. 
And  honour  what  the  Gods  count  pure  and  true.     **' 

King.  Hard  is  the  judgment :  choose  not  me  as  judge. 
But,  as  1  said  before,  I  may  not  act 
Without  the  people,  sovereign  though  1  be. 
Lest  the  crowd  say,  should  aught  fall  out  amiss, 
"  In  honouring  strangers,  thou  the  State  did'st  ruin." 

Antistrophk  III 

Chor.  Zeus,  the  great  God  of  kindred,  in  these  things 
Watches  o'er  both  of  us, 

1  By  an  Attic  law,  analogous  in  principle  to  that  of  the  Jews, 
(Num.  xxxvi.  8;  i  Chron.  xxiii.  22),  heiresses  were  absolutely 
bound  to  marry  their  next  of  kin,  if  he  claimed  his  right.  The 
king  at  once  asserts  this  as  the  law  which  was  primd  Jacie 
applicable  to  the  case,  and  declares  himself  ready  to  surrender 
it  if  the  petitioners  can  show  thai  tbeir  own  municipal  law  is  on 
the  other  side.  He  will  not  thrust  his  country's  customs  upon 
foreigners,  who  can  prove  that  they  live  under  a  different  rule, 
but  in  the  absence  of  evidence  must  act  on  the  law  which  he 
is  bound  officially  to  recognise. 

180 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Holding  an  equal  scale,  and  fitly  giving 
To  the  base  evil,  to  the  righteous  blessing. 

Why,  when  these  things  are  set 
In  even  balance,  fear'st  thou  to  do  right  ?  *** 

King.  Deep  thought  vtc  need  that  brings  deliverance, 
That,  like  a  diver,  mine  eye  too  may  plunge 
Clear-seeing  to  the  depths,  not  vv^ine-bedrenched. 
That  these  things  may  be  harmless  to  the  State, 
And  to  ourselves  may  issue  favourably : 
That  neither  may  the  strife  make  you  its  prey. 
Nor  that  we  give  you  up,  who  thus  are  set 
Near  holy  seat  of  Gods,  and  so  bring  in 
To  dwell  with  us  the  Avenger  terrible, 
God  that  destroyeth,  who  not  e'en  in  Hades  "" 

Gives  freedom  to  the  dead.     Say,  think  ye  not 
That  there  is  need  of  counsel  strong  to  save  ? 

Strophe  I 

Chor.  Take  heed  to  it,  and  be 
Friend  to  the  stranger  wholly  faithful  found  ; 

Desert  not  thou  the  poor, 
Driven  from  afar  by  godless  violence. 

.  Antistrophk  I 

See  me  not  dragged  away, 
O  thou  that  rul'st  the  land !   from  seat  of  Gods : 

Know  thou  man's  w.inton  pride,  *^ 

And  guard  thyself  against  the  wrath  of  Zeus. 

Strophe  II 

Endure  not  thou  to  see  thy  suppliant, 

Despite  of  law,  torn  off, 
As  horses  by  their  frontlets,  from  the  forms 

Of  sculptured  deities. 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

Nor  yet  the  outrage  of  their  wanton  hands, 
Seizing  these  broidered  robes. 

Antistrophe  II 

For  know  thou  well,  whichever  course  thou  take. 

Thy  sons  and  all  thy  house 
*Must  pay  in  war  the  debt  that  Justice  claims, 

Proportionate  in  kind.  *^ 

Lay  well  to  heart  these  edicts,  wise  and  true. 
Given  by  great  Zeus  himself. 
King.  Well  then  have  I  thought  o'er  it.      To  this 
point 
Our  ship's  course  drives.    Fierce  war  we  needs  must  risk 
Either  with  these  {pointing  to  the  Gods)  or  those.      Set 

fast  and  firm 
Is  this  as  is  the  ship  tight  wedged  in  stocks  ; 
And  without  trouble  there's  no  issue  out. 
For  wealth  indeed,  were  our  homes  spoiled  of  that. 
There  might  come  other,  thanks  to  Zeus  the  Giver, 
More  than  the  loss,  and  filling  up  the  freight  ;  **" 

And  if  the  tongue  should  aim  its  adverse  darts, 
Baleful  and  over-stimulant  of  wrath. 
There  might  be  words  those  words  to  heal  and  soothe 
But  how  to  blot  the  guilt  of  kindred  blood. 
This  needs  a  great  atonement — many  victims 
Falling  to  many  Gods — to  heal  the  woe. 
*I  take  my  part,  and  turn  aside  from  strife  ; 
And  I  far  rather  would  be  ignorant 
Than  wise,  forecastmg  evil.     May  the  end, 
Against  my  judgment,  show  itself  as  good  ! 

Chor.  Hear,  then,  the  last  of  all  our  pleas  for  pity. 
King.  I  hear  ;  speak  on.      It   shall  not  'scape  my 
heed.  ■^ 

Ckor.  Girdles  I  have,  and  zones  that  bind  my  robes. 
King.   Such  things  are  fitting  for  a  woman's  state. 
182 


THE  SUPPLIANTS 

Chor.  With  these  then,  know,  as  good  and  rare  de- 
vice .... 

King.  Nay,  speak.     What  word  is  this  thou'lt  utter 
now  ? 

Chor.  Unless  thou    giv'st  our    band    thy    plighted 
word  .... 

King.  What  wilt  thou  do  with  this  device  of  girdles  ? 

Chor.  With  tablets  new  these  sculptures  we'll  adorn. 

King.  Thou  speak'st  a  riddle.      Make  thy  meaning 
plain. 

Chor.  Upon  these  Gods  we'll  hang  ourselves  at  once. 

King.  I  hear  a  word  which  pierces  to  the  heart.  *^ 

Chor.   Thou  see'st  our  meaning.     Eyes  full    clear 
I've  given. 

King.  Lo  then  !   in  many  ways  sore  troubles  come. 
A  host  of  evils  rushes  like  a  flood  ; 
A  sea  of  woe  none  traverse,  fathomless, 
This  have  I  entered  ;  haven  there  is  none. 
For  if  1  fail  to  do  this  work  for  you. 
Thou  tellest  of  defilement  unsurpassed  ;' 
And  if  for  thee  against  .^gyptos'  sons. 
Thy  kindred,  I  before  my  city's  walls 
In  conflict  stand,  how  can  there  fail  to  be 
A  bitter  loss,  to  stain  the  earth  with  blood  "° 

Of  man  for  woman's  sake  ?     And  yet  I  needs 
Must  fear  the  wrath  of  Zeus,  the  suppliant's  God  ; 
That  dread  is  mightiest  with  the  sons  of  men. 
Thou,  then,  O  aged  father  of  these  maidens  !  . 
Taking  forthwith  these  branches  in  thine  arms, 
Lay  them  on  other  altars  of  the  Gods 
Our  country  worships,  that  the  citizens 
May  all  behold  this  token  of  thy  coming. 


>  Sc,   the  pollution  which  the  statues  of  the  Gods  would 
contract  if  they  carried  into  execution  their  threat  of  suicide. 
.       '«3 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

And  about  me  let  no  rash  speech  be  dropped  ; 
For  'tis  a  people  prompt  to  blame  their  rulers. 
And  then  perchance  some  one  beholding  them,        ** 
And  pitying,  may  wax  wrathful  'gainst  the  outrage 
Of  that  male  troop,  and  with  more  kindly  will 
The  people  look  on  you  ;  for  evermore 
Men  all  wish  well  unto  the  weaker  side. 

Dan.  This  boon  is  counted  by  us  of  great  price. 
To  find  a  patron  proved  so  merciful. 
And  thou,  send  with  us  guides  to  lead  us  on, 
And  tell  us  how  before  their  shrines  to  find 
The  altars  of  the  Gods  that  guard  the  State, 
*And  holy  places  columned  round  about  ; 
And  safety  for  us,  as  the  town  we  traverse. 
Not  of  like  fashion  is  our  features'  stamp  ;  *"" 

For  Neilos  rears  not  race  like  Inachos.^ 
Take  heed  lest  rashness  lead  to  bloodshed  here  ; 
Ere  now,  unknowing,  men  have  slain  their  friends. 
King  {to  jtttendanti).  Go  then,  my  men  ;  full  well 

the  stranger  speaks  ; 
And  lead  him  where  the  city's  altars  stand. 
The  scats  of  Gods  ;  and  see  ye  talk  not  much 
To  passers-by  as  ye  this  traveller  lead, 
A  suppliant  at  the  altar-hearth  of  Gods. 

\Exeunt  Danaos  and  Attendants 
Chor.  Thou  speak'st   to  him  ;  and   may  he  go  as 

bidden  ! 
But  what    shall  I  do  ?    .What  hope  giv'st  thou  me  ? 
King.  Leave  here  those  boughs,  the  token  of  your 

grief.  .  «» 

Chor.  Lo  !    here   I    leave   them  at   thy    beck    and 

word. 


1  Tnachos,  the  river-God  of  Argos,  and  as  such  contrasted 
with  Neilos. 

184 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

King.    Now  turn  thy  steps  towards  this  open  lawn. 
Chor.  What  shelter  gives  a  lawn  unconsecrate  ? ' 
King.  We  will  not  yield  thee  up  to  birds  of  prey. 
Chor.  Nay,    but    to    foes    far    worse    than    fiercest 

dragons. 
King.  Good  words  should  come  from  those  who 

good  have  heard. 
Chor.  No  wonder  they    wax  hot  whom   fear  en- 
thrals. 
King.  But  dread  is  still  for  rulers  all  unmeet. 
Chor.  Do  thou  then  cheer  our  soul  by  words  and 

deeds. 
King.  Nay,  no  long  time  thy  sire  will   leave  thee 
lorn  ;  "» 

And  I,  all  people  of  the  land  convening. 
Will  the  great  mass  persuade  to  kindly  words  ; 
And  I  will  teach  thy  father  what  to  say. 
Wherefore  remain  and  ask  our  country's  Gods, 
With  suppliant  prayers,  to  grant  thy  soul's  desire. 
And  I  will  go  in  furtherance  of  thy  wish  : 
Sweet  Suasion  follow  us,  and  Fortune  good  !        \^E.xit 

Strophe  I 

Chor.  O  King  of  kings  !  and  blest 

Above  all  blessed  ones. 
And  Power  most  mighty  of  the  mightiest  ! 

O  Zeus,  of  high  estate  !  *^ 

Hear  thou  and  grant  our  prayer  ! 
Drive  thou  far  off  the  wantonness  of  men. 

The  pride  thou  hatest  sore, 

1  i.e.,  "  Unconsecrate,"  marked  out  by  no  barriers,  accessible 
to  all,  and  therefore  seeming  lo  offirr  but  little  prospect  ot  a  safe 
asylum.     '1  he  piace  described  seems  to  have  been  an  open  piece 
of  tiuf  rather  than  a  grove  of  trees. 
.85 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

And  in  the  pool  of  darkling  purple  hue 

Plunge  thou  the  woe  that  comes  in  swarthy  barque. 

Antistrophe  I 

Look  on  the  women's  cause  ; 

Recall  the  ancient  tale, 
Of  one  whom  Thou  did'st  love  in  time  of  old. 

The  mother  of  our  race  : 

Remember  it,  O  Thou 
Who  did'st  on  lo  lay  thy  mystic  touch. 

We  boast  that  we  are  come 
Of  consecrated  land  the  habitants,  ''^ 

And  from  this  land  by  lineage  high  descended. 

Strophe  II 

Now  to  the  ancient  track, 

Our  mother's,  I  have  passed, 
The  flowery  meadow-land  where  she  was  watched, — 

The  pastures  of  the  herd. 
Whence  lo,  by  the  stinging  gadfly  driven. 

Flees,  of  her  sense  bereft. 
Passing  through  many  tribes  of  mortal  men  ; 

And  then  by  Fate's  decree 

Crossing  the  billowy  straits, 
On  either  side  she  leaves  a  continent.'  **° 

Antistrophe  II 

Now  through  the  Asian  land 
She  hastens  o'er  and  o'er, 
Right    through   the   Phrygian  fields    where   fc^d  the 
flocks  ; 
And  passes  Teuthras'  fort, 

1  Comp.  the  narrative  as  given  in  Prometheus  Bound,  v.'.  660, 
et  sea. 

186 


THE  SUPPLIANTS 

Owned  by  the  Mysians,'  and  the  Lydian  plains  ; 

And  o'er  Kilikian  hills, 
And  those  of  far  Pamphylia  rushing  on, 

By  ever-flowing  streams. 

On  to  the  deep,  rich  lands, 
And  Aphrodite's  home  in  wheat  o'erflowing.' 

Strophe  III 

And  so  she  cometh,  as  that  herdsman  winged  ''* 

Pierces  with  sharpest  sting. 
To  holy  plain  all  forms  of  life  sustaining. 

Fields  that  are  fed  from  snows,' 
Which  Typhon's  monstrous  strength  has  traversed,* 

And  unto  Neilos'  streams. 

By  sickly  taint  untouched,* 
Still  maddened  with  her  toil  of  ignominy. 
By  torturing  stings  driven  on,  great  Hera's  frenzied 
slave. 


i  Teuthras'  fort,  or  Teuthran-a,  is  described  by  Strabo  (xii. 
p.  571)  as  lying  between  the  Hellespont  and  Mount  Sipylos,  in 
Magnesia. 

2  Kypros,  as  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  Aphrodite,  and 
famous  for  its  wine,  and  oil,  and  com. 

8  The  question,  what  caused  the  mysterious  exceptional 
inundations  of  the  Nile,  occupied,  as  we  see  from  Herodotos 
(ii.  c.  19-27),  the  minds  of  the  Greeks.  Of  the  four  theories 
wliich  the  historian  discusses,  .^Eschylos  adopts  that  wliicli 
referred  it  to  the  melting  of  the  snows  on  the  mountains  of 
central  Africa. 

*  Typhon,  the  mythical  embodiment  of  the  power  ol  evil,  was 
fabled  to  have  wandered  over  Egypt,  seeki/ig  the  body  of  Osiris. 
Isis,  to  baffle  him,  placed  coffins  in  all  parts  of  Egypt,  all  empty 
but  the  one  which  contained  the  body. 

6  The  fame  of  the  Nile  for  the  purity  of  its  water,  after  the 
ea'thy  matter  held  in  solution  had  been  deposited,  seeins  to 
have  been  as  great  in  the  earliest  periods  of  its  history  as  it  is 
now. 

i»7 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Antistrophe  III 

And  those  who  then  the  lands  inhabited, 

Quivered  with  pallid  fear,  '*' 

That  filled  their  soul  at  that  unwonted  marvel, 
Seeing  that  monstrous  shape, 
The  human  joined  with  brute. 

Half  heifer,  and  half  form  of  woman  fair  :  ^ 
And  sore  amazed  were  they. 
Who  was  it  then  that  soothed 

Poor  lo,  wandering  in  her  sore  affright, 

Driven  on,  and  ever  on,  by  gadfly's  maddening  sting  ? 

Strophe  IV 

Zeus,  Lord  of  endless  time 

[Was  seen  All-working  then  ;] 
He,  even  He,  for  by  his  sovereign  might 
That  works  no  ill,  was  she  from  evil  freed  ;  '""^ 

And  by  his  breath  divine 
She  findeth  rest,  and  weeps  in  floods  of  tears 

Her  sorrowing  shame  away  ; 

And  with  new  burden  big, 

Not  falsely  '  Zeus-born  '  named, 
She  bare  a  son  that  grew  in  faultless  growth, 

Antistrophe  IV 

Prosperous  through  long,  long  years ; 
And  so  the  whole  land  shouts  with  one  accord, 
"  Lo,  a  race  sprung  from  him,  the  Lord  of  life, 

In  very  deed,  Zeus-born  !  *** 


1  lo  was  represented  as  a  woman  with  a  heifer's  head,  and 
was  probably  a  symbolic  representation  of  the  moon,  with  her 
crescent   horns.      Sometimes   the  transformation   is   described 
(as  in  V.  394)  in  words  which  imply  a  more  thorough  change. 
188 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Who  else  had  checked  the  plagues  that  Hera  sent  ?  " 

This  is  the  work  of  Zeus  : 

And  speaking  of  our  race 

That  sprang  from  Epaphos 
As  such,  thou  would'st  not  fail  to  hit  the  mark. 

Strophe  V 

Which  of  the  Gods  could  I  with  right  invoke 

As  doing  juster  deeds  ? 
He  is  our  Father,  author  of  our  life, 
The  King  whose  right  hand  worketh  all  his  will, 
Our  line's  great  author,  in  his  counsels  deep  ' 

Recording  things  of  old, 
Directing  all  his  plans,  the  great  work-master,  Zeus. 

Antistrophe  V 

For  not  as  subject  hastening  at  the  beck 

Of  strength  above  his  own,^ 
Reigns  He  subordinate  to  mightier  powers ;  "" 

Nor  does  He  pay  his  homage  from  below. 
While  One  sits  throned  in  majesty  above ;  ^ 

Act  is  for  him  as  speech. 
To  hasten  what  his  teeming  mind  resolves. 

Re-enter  Danaos 

Dan.  Be  of  good  cheer,  my  children.    All  goes  well 
With  those  who  dwell  here,  and  the  people's  voice 
Hath  passed  decrees  full,  firm,  irrevocable. 

^  Perhaps — 

"  For  not  as  subject  sitting  'neath  the  sway 
Of  strength  above  his  own." 

'  The  passage  takes  its  place  auiong  the  noblest  utterances 
of  a  faith  passing  above  the  popular  polytheism  to  the  thought 
of  one  sovereign  Will  ruling  and  guiding  all  things,  as  Will — 
without  effort,  m  the  calmness  of  a  power  irresistible. 
189 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

Chor.  Hail,  aged  sire,  that  tell'st  me  right  good  news ! 
But  say  with  what  intent  the  vote  hath  passed. 
And  on  which  side  the  people's  hands  prevail. 

Dan.  The  Argives  have  decreed  without  division, 
So  that  my  aged  mind  grew  young  again ;  *"° 

For  in  full  congress,  with  their  right  hands  raised 
Rustled  the  air  as  they  decreed  their  vote 
That  we  should  sojourn  in  their  land  as  free, 
Free  from  arrest,  and  with  asylum  rights ; 
And  that  no  native  here  nor  foreigner 
Should  lead  us  off;  and,  should  he  venture  force. 
That  every  citizen  who  gave  not  help 
Dishonoured  should  be  driven  to  exile  forth. 
Such  counsel  giving,  the  Pelasgian  King  "" 

Gained  their  consent,  proclaiming  that  great  wrath 
Of  Zeus  the  God  of  suppliants  ne'er  would  let 
The  city  wax  in  fatness, — warning  them 
That  double  guilt '  upon  the  State  would  come. 
Touching  at  once  both  guests  and  citizens. 
The  food  and  sustenance  of  sore  disease 
That  none  could  heal.     And  then  the  Argive  host. 
Hearing  these  things,  decreed  by  show  of  hands. 
Not  waiting  for  the  herald's  proclamation. 
So  it  should  be.     They  heard,  indeed,  the  crowd 
Of  those  Pelasgi,  all  the  winning  speech, 
The  well-turned  phrases  cunning  to  persuade ; 
But  it  was  Zeus  that  brought  the  end  to  pass. 
Chor.  Come  then,  come,  let  us  speak  far  Argives 
Prayers  that  are  good  for  good  deeds  done ;  '* 
Zeus,  who  o'er  all  strangers  watches. 
May  He  regard  with  his  praise  and  favour 

^  Double,  as  involving  a  »in  against  the  laws  of  hospitality, 
so  far  as  the  suppliants  were  strangers — a  sin  against  the  laws  of 
kindred,  so  far  as  they  might  claim  by  descent  the  rights  of 
citizenship. 

190 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

The  praise  that  comes  from  the  lips  of  strangers, 
*And  guide  in  all  to  a  faultless  issue. 


Strophe  I 

Half-Chor.  A.  Now,  now,  at  last,  ye  Gods  of  Zeus 
begotten," 
Hear,  as  I  pour  my  prayers  upon  their  race, 
That  ne'er  may  this  Pelasgic  city  raise 
From  out  its  flames  the  joyless  cry  of  War, 

War,  that  in  other  fields 

Reapeth  his  human  crop  : 

For  they  have  mercy  shown, 

And  passed  their  kind  decree,  ** 

Pitying  this  piteous  flock,  the  suppliants  of  great  Zeus. 

Aniistrophe  I 

They  did  not  take  their  stand  with  men  'gainst  women 
Casting  dishonour  on  their  plea  for  help, 
*But  looked  to  Him  who  sees  and  works  from  heaven, 
*Full  hard  to  war  with.     Yea,  what  house  could  bear 

To  see  Him  on  its  roof 

Casting  pollution  there  ?* 

Sore  vexing  there  he  sits. 

Yes,  they  their  kin  revere. 

Suppliants  of  holiest  Zeus  ;  •*" 

Therefore  with  altars  pure  shall  they  the  Gods  delight. 


1  If,  as  has  been  conjectured,  the  tragedy  was  written  with  a 
view  to  the  alliance  bcitween  Argos  and  Aiheiis,  made  in  B.C.  461, 
this  choral  ode  must  have  been  the  centre,  if  not  of  the  dramatic, 
at  all  events  of  the  political  interest  of  the  play. 

'  The  image  is  that  of  a  bird  of  evil  omen,  perched  upon  the 
roof,  and  defiling  the  house,  while  it  uttered  its  boding  cries. 
»9» 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

Strophe  II 
Therefore  from  faces  by  our  boughs  o'ershadowcd ' 
Let  prayers  ascend  in  emulous  eagerness  : 

Ne'er  may  dark  pestilence 

This  State  of  men  bereave  ; 

May  no  fierce  party  strife 
Pollute  these  plains  with  native  carcases  ; 

And  may  the  bloom  of  youth 

Be  with  them  still  uncropt ; 
And  ne'er  may  Aphrodite's  paramour,  *" 

Ares  the  scourge  of  men, 

Mow  down  their  blossoms  fair  ! 

Antistrophe  II 
And  let  the  altars  tended  by  the  old 
*Blaze  with  the  gifts  of  men  with  hoary  hairs  ; 

So  may  the  State  live  on 

In  full  prosperity  ! 

Let  them  great  Zeus  adore, 
The  strangers'  God,  the  one  Supreme  on  high. 

By  venerable  law 

Ordering  the  course  of  fate. 
And  next  we  pray  that  ever  more  and  more 

Earth  may  her  tribute  bear. 
And  Artemis  as  Hecate  preside^ 

O'er  woman's  travail-pangs.  *" 

Strophe  III 

Let  no  destroying  strife  come  on,  invading 
This  city  to  lay  waste, 

1  The  suppliants'  boughs,  so  held  as  to  shade  the  face  from 
»iew. 

2  The  name  of  Hecate  connected  Artemis  as,  on  the  one  side, 
with  the  unseen  world  of  Hades,  so,  on  the  other,  with  child- 
birth, and  the  purifications  that  followed  on  it, 

192 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Setting  in  fierce  array 

War,  with  its  fruit  of  tears, 

Lyreless  and  danceless  all, 

And  cry  of  people's  wrath  ; 

And  may  the  swarm  of  plagues, 

Loathly  and  foul  to  see, 
Abide  far  off"  from  these  our  citizens, 
And  that  Lykeian  king,  may  He  be  found 

Benignant  to  our  youth  ! ' 

Antistrophe  hi 

And  Zeus,  may  He,  by  his  supreme  decree. 
Make  the  earth  yield  her  fruits 
Through  all  the  seasons  round. 
And  grant  a  plenteous  brood 
Of  herds  that  roam  the  fields ! 
May  Heaven  all  good  gifts  pour, 
And  may  the  voice  of  song 
Ascend  o'er  altar  shrines, 
Unmarred  by  sounds  of  ill  ! 
And  let  the  voice  that  loves  with  lyre  to  blend 
Go  forth  from  lips  of  blameless  holiness, 
In  accents  of  great  joy  ! 

Strophe  IV 

•And  may  the  rule  in  which  the  people  share 
Keep  the  State's  functions  as  in  perfect  peace, 


1  The  name  of  Lykeian,  originally,  perhaps,  simply  represent- 
ing Apollo  as  the  God  of  Light,  came  afterwards  to  be  associated 
\vi  h  the  might  of  destruction  (the  Wolf-destroyer)  and  the  darts 
of  pestilence  and  sudden  death.  The  prayer  is  therefore  that  he, 
the  Destroyer,  may  hearken  to  the  suppliants,  and  spare  the 
people  for  whom  they  pray. 

1  193  M 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

E'en  that  which  sways  the  crowd, 

*Which  sways  the  commonwealth,  "^ 

By  counsels  wise  and  good  ; 
And  to  the  strangers  and  the  sojourners 
May  they  grant  rights  that  rest  on  compacts  sure, 

Ere  War  is  roused  to  arms, 

So  that  no  trouble  come  ! 

Antistrophe  IV 

And  the  great  Gods  who  o'er  this  country  watch, 
May  they  adore  them  in  the  land  They  guard, 

With  rites  of  sacrifice. 

And  troops  with  laurel  boughs, 

As  did  our  sires  of  old  ! 
For  thus  to  honour  those  who  gave  us  life. 
This  stands  as  one  of  three  great  laws  on  high,* 

Written  as  fixed  and  firm. 

The  laws  of  Right  revered. 
Dan.   I  praise  these  seemly  prayers,  dear  children 
mine.  "^^ 

But  fear  ye  not,  if  I  your  father  speak 
Words  that  are  new,  and  all  unlooked-for  by  you  ; 
For  from  this  station  to  the  suppliant  given 
I  see  the  ship  ;  too  clear  to  be  mistaken 
The  swelling  sails,  the  bulwark's  coverings. 
And  prow  with  eyes  that  scan  the  onward  way,' 
But  too  obedient  to  the  steerman's  helm, 
Being,  as  it  is,  unfriendly.     And  the  men 
Who  sail  in  her  with  swarthy  limbs  are  seen, 

J  The  "  three  great  laws"  were  those  ascribed  toTriptolenios. 
*'  to  honour  parents,  to  worship  the  Gods  with  the  fruits  of  the 
earth,  to  hurt  neither  man  nor  beast." 

2  The  Egyptian  ships,  like  those  of  many  other  Eastern 
countries, had  eyes  (the  eyes  of  Osiris, as  they  were  called)  painted 
on  their  bows. 

194 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

In  raiment  white  conspicuous.     And  I  see  '"" 

Full  clear  the  other  ships  that  come  to  help  ; 

And  this  as  leader,  putting  in  to  shore, 

Furling  its  sails,  is  rowed  with  equal  stroke. 

'Tis  yours,  with  mood  of  calm  and  steadfast  soul. 

To  face  the  fact,  and  not  to  slight  the  Gods. 

And  I  will  come  with  friends  and  advocates  ; 

For  herald,  it  may  be,  or  embassy. 

May  come,  and  wish  to  seize  and  bear  you  off. 

Grasping  their  prey.     But  nought  of  this  shall  be  ; 

Fear  ye  not  them.     It  were  well  done,  however. 

If  we  should  linger  in  our  help,  this  succour  "" 

In  no  wise  to  forget.     Take  courage  then  ; 

In  their  own  time  and  at  the  appointed  day, 

Whoever  slights  the  Gods  shall  pay  for  it. 

Strophe  I 
Chor.  I  fear,  my  father,  since  the  swift-winged  ships 
Are  come,  and  very  short  the  time  that's  left. 
A  shuddering  anguish  makes  me  sore  afraid, 
Lest  small  the  profit  of  my  wandering  flight. 
I  faint,  my  sire,  for  fear. 
Dan,  My  children,  since  the  Argives' vote  is  passed, 
Take  courage  :  they  will  fight  for  thee,  I  know.       ''^ 

Antistrophe  I 
Chor.  Hateful  and  wanton  are  ^Egyptos'  sons, 
Insatiable  of  conflict,  and  I  speak 
To  one  who  knows  them.     They  in  timbered  ships, 
Dark -eyed,  have  sailed  in  wrath  that  hits  its  mark. 
With  great  and  swarthy  host. 
Dan.  Yet  many  they  shall  find  whose  arms  are  tanned 
In  the  full  scorching  of  the  noontide  heat.' 

1  A  side-thrust,  directed  by  the  poet,  who  had  fouglit  at  Ma- 
rathon, against  the  growing  effeminacy  of  the  Athenian  youih 
»95 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Strophe  II 

Chor.  Leave  me  not  here  alone,  I  pray  thee,  father  ! 
Alone,  a  woman  is  as  nought,  and  war 
Is  not  for  her.     Of  over-subtle  mind, 
And  subtle  counsel  in  their  souls  impure,  "° 

Like  ravens,  e'en  for  altars  caring  not, — 
Such,  such  in  soul  are  they. 
Dan.  That  would   work   well   indeed   for   us,  my 
children. 
Should  they  be  foes  to  Gods  as  unto  thee. 

Antistrophe  II 

Chor.   No  reverence  for  these  tridents  or  the  shrmes 
Of  Gods,  my  father,  will  restrain  their  hands  : 
Full  stout  of  heart,  of  godless  mood  unblest. 
Fed  to  the  full,  and  petulant  as  dogs, 
And  for  the  voice  of  high  Gods  caring  not, — 
Such,  such  in  soul  are  they. 
Dan.  Nay,  the  tale  runs  that  wolves  prevail  o'er 
dogs ;  ^*° 

And  byblos  fruit  excels  not  ear  of  corn.' 

Chor.  But  since  their  minds  are  as  the  minds  of 
brutes, 
Restless  and  vain,  we  must  beware  of  force. 

many  of  whom  were  learning  to  shrink  from  all  activity  and 
exposure  that  might  spoil  their  complexions.  Comp.  Plato, 
PhcBdros,  p.  239. 

1  The  saying  is  somev/hat  dark,  but  the  n)eaning  seems  to  be 
that  if  the  "dogs"  of  Egypt  are  strong,  the  "wolves"  of  Argos 
are  stronger  ;  that  the  wheat  on  which  the  Hellenes  lived  gave 
greater  strength  to  limbs  and  sinew  than  the  "byblos  fruit  "  on 
which  the  Egyptian  soldiers  and  sailors  habitually  hved.  Some 
writers,  however,  have  seen  in  the  last  line,  rendered — 
"The  byblos  fruit  not  always  bears  full  ear," 
a  proverb  like  the  English, 

"  There's  many  a  slip 
'Twixt  the  cup  and  the  lip." 
X96 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Dan.  Not  rapid  is  the  getting  under  weigh 
Of  naval  squadron,  nor  their  anchoring, 
Nor  the  safe  putting  into  shore  with  cables. 
Nor  have  the  shepherds  of  swift  ships  quick  trust 
In  anchor-fastenings,  most  of  all,  as  now. 
When  coming  to  a  country  havenless ; 
And  when  the  sun  has  yielded  to  the  night. 
That  night  brings  travail  to  a  pilot  wise,  ''^ 

[Though  it  be  calm  and  all  the  waves  sleep  still ;] 
So  neither  can  this  army  disembark 
Before  the  ship  is  safe  in  anchorage. 
And  thou  beware  lest  in  thy  panic  fear 
Thou  slight  the  Gods  whom  thou  hast  called  to  help. 
The  city  will  not  blame  your  messenger. 
Old  though  he  be,  being  young  in  clear- voiced  thought. 

Exit 
Strophe  I 

Chor.  Ah,  me!   thou  land  of  jutting  promontory 

Which  justly  all  revere, 
What  lies  before  us?     Where  in  Apian  land 

Shall  we  a  refuge  find, 
If  still  there  be  dark  hiding  anywhere? 

Ah  !   that  I  were  as  smoke 

That  riseth  full  and  black 

Nigh  to  the  clouds  of  Zeus,  "° 

Or  soaring  up  on  "high  invisible, 

Like  dust  that  vanishes, 
Pass  out  of  being  with  no  help  from  wings! 

Antistrophe  I 

•E'en  so  the  ill  admits  not  now  of  flight ; 

My  heart  in  dark  gloom  throbs ; 
My  father's  work  as  watcher  brings  me  low  ; 

I  faint  for  very  fear, 
197 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

And  I  would  fain  find  noose  that  bringeth  death, 

In  twisted  cordage  hung, 

Before  the  man  I  loathe 

Draws  near  this  flesh  of  mine :  ^™ 

Sooner  than  that  may  Hades  rule  o'er  me 

Sleeping  the  sleep  of  death ! 

Strophe  II 

Ah,  might  I  find  a  place  in  yon  high  vault, 
Where  the  rain-clouds  are  passing  into  snow, 

Or  lonely  precipice 

Whose  summit  none  can  see. 

Rock  where  the  vulture  haunts, 
Witness  for  me  of  my  abysmal  fall. 
Before  the  marriage  that  will  pierce  my  heart 

Becomes  my  dreaded  doom! 

Antistrophe  II 

I  shrink  not  from  the  thought  of  being  the  prey       '^ 
Of  dogs  and  birds  that  haunt  the  country  round  ; 

For  death  shall  make  me  free 

From  ills  all  lamentable  : 

Yea,  let  death  rather  come 
Than  the  worse  doom  of  hated  marriage-bed. 
What  other  refuge  now  remains  for^me 

That  marriage  to  avert? 

Strophe  III 

Yea,  to  the  Gods  raise  thou 
Cloud-piercing,  wailing  cry 
Of  songs  and  litanies, 
Prevailing,  working  freedom  out  for  me  :  ''^ 

And  thou,  O  Father,  look, 
Look  down  upon  the  strife, 
198 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

With  glance  of  wrath  against  our  enemies 

From  eyes  that  see  the  right  •, 
With  pity  look  on  us  thy  suppliants, 
O  Lord  of  Earth,  O  Zeus  omnipotent  ! 

Antistrophe  III 

For  lo  !  ^gyptos'  house, 

In  pride  intolerable, 

O'er-masculine  in  mood, 
Pursuing  me  in  many  a  winding  course, 

Poor  wandering  fugitive, 

With  loud  and  wild  desires, 
Seek  in  their  frenzied  violence  to  seize  :  ** 

But  thine  is  evermore 
The  force  that  turns  the  balance  of  the  scale  : 
What  comes  to  mortal  men  apart  from  Thee  ? 

Ah  !  ah !  ah  !  ah  ! 
•Here  on  the  land  behold  the  ravisher 

Who  comes  on  us  by  sea  ! 
•Ah,  may'st  thou  perish,  ravisher,  ere  thou 

Hast  stopped  or  landed  here  ! 
•I  utter  cry  of  wailing  loud  and  long, 
•I  see  them  work  the  prelude  of  their  crimes. 

Their  crimes  of  violence. 

Ah  !   ah  !     Ah  me  !  •" 

Haste  in  your  flight  for  help  ! 
The  mighty  ones  are  waxing  fat  and  proud. 
By  sea  and  land  alike  intolerable. 
Be  thou,  O  King,  our  bulwark  and  defence  ! 

Enter  Herald  of  the  sons  o/"^gyptos,  advancing  to 
tl)€  daughters  c/'Danaos 

Her.  Haste,   haste    with  all   your  speed  unto  the 
barque. 

199 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

Chor.  Tearing  of  hair,  yea,  tearing  now  will  come, 

And  print  of  nails  in  flesh, 

And  smiting  oft"  of  heads. 

With  murderous  stream  of  blood. 
Her.  Haste,  haste  ye,  to  that  barque  that  yonder 
lies, 

Ye  wretches,  curse  on  you. 

Strophe  I 

Chor.  Would  thou  had'st  met  thy  death 

Where  the  salt  waves  wildly  surge, 

Thou  with  thy  lordly  pride, 

In  nail-compacted  ship  : 
*Lo  !   they  will  smite  thee,  weltering  in  thy  blood,  *^ 

*And  drive  thee  to  thy  barque. 
Her.   I  bid  you  cease  perforce,  the  cravings  wild 

Of  mind  to  madness  given. 

Ho  there  !  what  ho  !   I  say  ;  •* 

Give  up  those  scats,  and  hasten  to  the  ship  : 
I  reverence  not  what  this  State  honoureth. 

Antistrophk  I 

Chor.  Ah,  I  may  ne'er  again 
Behold  the  stream  where  graze  the  goodly  kine, 

Nourished  and  fed  by  which ' 
The  blood  of  cattle  waxes  strong  and  full ! 

*As  with  a  native's  right, 

*And  one  of  old  descent, 
I  keep,  old  man,  my  seat,  my  seat,  I  say. 

I  The  words  recall  the  vision  of  the  "seven  well-favoured 
kine  and  fat-fleshed,"  which  "  came  out  »f  the  river,"  as  Pharaoh 
dreamed  (Gen.  xli.  i,  3],  and  which  were  associated  so  closely 
with  the  fertility  which  it  ordinarily  produced  through  the  v^hole 
extent  of  the  valley  of  the  Nile. 

?99 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

Her.  Nay,  in  a  ship,  a  ship  thou  shalt  soon  go,     *"' 
With  or  without  thy  will, 
By  force,  I  say,  by  force  : 
Come,  come,  provoke  not  evils  terrible, 
Falling  by  these  my  hands. 

Strophe  II 
Ckor.  Ah  me  !  ah  me  ! 
Would  thou  may'st  perish  with  no  hand  to  help, 
Crossing  the  sea's  wide  plain, 
In  wanderings  far  and  wide. 
Where  Sarpedonian  sand-bank '  spreads  its  length. 
Driven  by  the  sweeping  blasts  ! 
Her.  Sob    thou,    and    howl,    and    call     upon    the 
Gods  :  8^« 

Thou  shalt  not  'scape  that  barque  from  ^gypt  come. 
Though  thou  should'st  pour  a  bitterer  strain  of  grief. 

Antistrophe  II 
CJwr.  Woe  !  woe  !     Ah  woe  !  ah  woe. 
For  this  foul  wrong  !     Thou  utterest  fearful  things  ; 
*Thou  art  too  bold  and  insolent  of  speech. 
•May  mighty  Nile  that  reared  thee  turn  away 
Thy  wanton  pride  and  lust 
That  we  behold  it  not  ! 
Her.  I  bid  you  go  to  yon  ship  double-prowed,' 
With  all  your  speed.     Let  no  one  lag  behind  ; 
But  little  shall  my  grasp  your  ringlets  spare.  *** 

\_Seizes  en  the  leader  of  the  Suppliants 

1  Two  dangerous  low  headlands  seem  to  have  been  known  by 
this  name,  one  on  the  coast  of  Kilikia,  the  other  on  that  of  the 
Thrakian  Chersonese. 

'  No  traces  of  ihips  of  this  structure  are  found  in  Egyptian 
art;  but,  if  the- reading  be  right,  it  implies  the  existence  of 
boats  of  some  kind,  so  built  that  they  could  be  steered  froii) 
either  end. 

?9I 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

Strophe  III 

Chor.  Ah  me  !  my  father,  ah  ! 
The  help  of  holiest  statues  turns  to  woe  ; 

He  leads  me  to  the  sea, 

With  motion  spider-like. 
Or  like  a  dream,  a  dark  and  dismal  dream. 

Ah  woe  !  ah  woe  !   ah  woe  ! 
O  mother  Earth  !   O  Earth  I   O  mother  mine  ! 

Avert  that  cry  of  fear, 
O  Zeus,  thou  king  !   O  son  of  mother  Earth  ! 

Her.    Nay,  I  fear  not  the  Gods  they  worship  here  ; 
Th«y  did  not  rear  nor  lead  me  up  to  age.  ^'''^ 

Antistrophe  III 
Chor.  Near  me  he  rages  now, 

That  biped  snake. 
And  like  a  viper  bites  me  by  the  foot. 

Oh,  woe  is  me  !   woe  !   woe  ! 
O  mother  Earth  !   O  Earth  !   O  mother  mine  ! 

Avert  that  cry  of  fea-r, 
O  Zeus,  thou  king  !   O  son  of  mother  Earth  ! 

Her.  If  some  one  yield  not,  and  to  yon  ship  go, 
The  hand  that  tears  her  tunic  will  not  pity. 

Strophe  IV 

Chor.  Ho  !  rulers  of  the  State  !  ^ 

Ye  princes  !   I  am  seized. 
Her.   It  seems,  since  ye  are  slow  to  hear  my  words, 
That  I  shall  have  to  drag  you  by  the  hair. 

Antistrophe  IV 

Chor.   We  are  undone,  undone  ! 
We  sufter,  prince,  unlooked-for  outrages. 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

Her.  Full  many  princes,  heirs  of  great  ^gyptos. 
Ye  soon  shall  see.     Take  cl  xage  ;  ye  shall  have 
No  cause  to  speak  of  anarchy  as  there. 

Enter  Yiv^Q  followed  by  his  Bodyguard 

King.  Ho    there  !      What    dost    thou  r    and    with 
what  intent 
Dost  thou  so  outrage  this  Pelasgic  land? 
Dost  think  thou  comest  to  a  town  of  women  ?  *** 

Too  haughty  thou,  a  stranger  'gainst  Hellenes, 
And,  sinning  much,  hast  nothing  done  aright. 

Her.  What  sin  against  the  right  have  I  then  done  \ 
King.  First,  thou  know'st  not  how  stranger-guest 

should  act. 
Her.  How    so  ?       When    I,    but    finding    what   I 

lost  .  .  . 
King.  Whom  among  us  dost  thou  then  patrons  call  ? 
Her.   Hermes  the  Searcher,  chiefest  patron  mine.^ 
King.  Thou,  Gods    invoking,    honourest    not   the 

Gods. 
Her.  The  Gods  of  Neilos  are  the  Gods  I  worship. 
King.  Ours   then  are  nought,   if  I    thy    meaning 
catch.  ^ 

Her.  These  girls  I'll  lead,  if  no  one  rescues  them. 
King,  hay  hand  on  them,  and  soon  thou'lt  pay  the 

cost. 
Her.  I  hear  a  word  in  no  wise  hospitable. 
King.  Who  rob  the  Gods  I  welcome  not  as  guests. 


1  Hfrmes,  the  guardian  deity  of  heralds,  is  here  described  by 
the  epithet  which  marked  him  out  as  being  also  the  patron  ol 
detectives.  Every  stranger  arriving  in  a  Greek  port  had  to 
place  himself  under  a  proxenos  or  patron  of  some  kind.  The 
li^rald,  having  no  proxenos  among  the  citizens,  appeals  to  bis 
patron  deity. 

»o3 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

Her.  I  then  will  tell  ^gyptos'  children  this. 

King.  This  threat  is  all  unheeded  in  my  mind. 

Her.   But  that  I,  knowing  all,  may  speak  it  plain, 
(For  it  is  meet  a  herald  should  declare 
Each  matter  clearly,)  what  am  I  to  say  ? 
By  whom  have  I  been  robbed  of  that  fair  band 
Of  women  whom  I  claim  as  kindred  ?     Nay,  "° 

But  it  is  Ares  that  shall  try  this  cause. 
And  not  with  witnesses,  nor  money  down, 
Settling  the  matter,  but  there  first  must  fall 
Full  many  a  soldier,  and  of  many  a  life 
The  rending  in  convulsive  agony. 

King.  Why  should  I  tell  my  name  ?     In  time  thou'lt 
know  it. 
Thou  and  thy  fellow-travellers.      But  these  maidens. 
With  their  consent  and  free  choi-ce  of  their  wills. 
Thou  may'st  lead  off,  if  godly  speech  persuade  them : 
But  this  decree  our  city's  men  have  made 
With  one  consent,  that  we  to  force  yield  not 
This  company  of  women.     Here  the  nail  "^ 

Is  driven  tight  home  to  keep  its  place  full  firm  ; ' 
These  things  are  written  not  on  tablets  only, 
[Nor  signed  and  sealed  in  folds  of  byblos-rolls  ;] 
Thou  hear'st  them  clearly  from  a  tongue  that  speaks 
With  full,  free  speech.     Away,  away,  I  say  : 
And  with  all  speed  from  out  my  presence  haste. 

Her.   It  is  thy  will  then  a  rash  war  to  wage  : 
May  strength  and  victory  on  our  males  attend  ! 

[Exif 

1  The  words  refer  to  the  custom  of  nailing  decrees,  proclan-.a- 
tions,  treaties,  and  the  hke,  engraved  on  metal  or  marble,  upon 
the  walls  of  temples  or  public  buildings.  Traces  of  the  same 
idea  may  possibly  be  found  in  the  promise  to  Eliakim  that  he 
shall  be  "as  a  nail  in  a  sure  place  "  (isa.  xxii.  23),  in  the  thanks- 
giving of  Ezra  that  God  had  given  His  people  "  a  nail  in  his 
holy  place  "  (Ezra  ix.  8). 

204 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

King.  Nay,  thou  shalt  find    the  dwellers   of  this 
land 
Are  also  males,  and  drink  not  draughts  of  ale  **' 

From  barley  brewed.'     \To  the  Suppliants^     But  ye, 

and  your  attendants. 
Take  courage,  go  within  the  fenced  city. 
Shut  in  behind  its  bulwark  deep  of  towers  ; 
Yea,  many  houses  to  the  State  belong, 
And  I  a  palace  own  not  meanly  built. 
If  ye  prefer  to  live  with  many  others 
In  ease  and  plenty  :  or  if  that  suits  better. 
Ye  may  inhabit  separate  abodes. 
Of  these  two  offers  that  which  pleases  best 
Choose  for  yourselves,  and  I  as  your  protector,         •**■ 
And  all  our  townsmen,  will  defend  the  pledge 
Which  our  decree  has  given  you.     Why  wait'st  thou 
For  any  better  authorised  than  these  ? 

Chor.  For  these  thy  good  deeds  done  may'st  thou 
in  good, 
All  good,  abound,  great  chief  of  the  Pelasgi  ! 

But  kindly  send  to  us 
Our  father  Danaos,  brave  and  true  of  heart, 

To  counsel  and  direct. 
His  must  the  first  decision  be  where  we 

Should  dwell,  and  where  to  find 
A  kindly  home  ;  for  ready  is  each  one 
To  speak  his  word  of  blame  'gainst  foreigners.  ** 

But  may  all  good  be  ours! 
And  so  with  fair  repute  and  speech  of  men. 

Free  from  all  taint  of  wrath, 
So  place  yourselves,  dear  handmaids,  in  the  land, 

1  As  before,  the  bread  of  the  Hellenes  was  praised  to  the  dis- 
paragement of  the  "byblos  fruit"  of  Egypt,  so  here  their  wine 
to  that  of  the  Egyptian  beer,  which  was  the  ordinary  drink  of 
the  lower  classes. 

205 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

As  Danaos  hath  for  each  of  us  assigned 
Dowry  of  handmaid  slaves. 

Enter  Xyi\.^hO%  followed  by  Soldiers 

Dan.  My  children,  to  the  Argives  ye  should  pray, 
And  sacrifice,  and  full  libations  pour, 
As  to  Olympian  Gods,  for  they  have  proved. 
With  one  consent,  deliverers :  and  they  heard 
*A11  that  I  did  towards  those  cousins  there,  '**' 

*Those  lovers  hot  and  bitter.     And  they  gave 
To  me  as  followers  these  that  bear  the  spear, 
That  I  might  have  my  meed  of  honour  due, 
And  might  not  die  by  an  assassin's  hand 
A  death  unlooked-for,  and  thus  leave  the  land 
A  weight  of  guilt  perpetual:  and  'tis  fit 
That  one  who  meets  such  kindness  should  return, 
*From  his  heart's  depths,  a  nobler  gratitude ; 
And  add  ye  this  to  all  already  written. 
Your  father's  many  maxims  of  true  wisdom. 
That  we,  though  strangers,  may  in  time  be  known  ;    *"" 
For  as  to  aliens  each  man's  tongue  is  apt 
For  evil,  and  spreads  slander  thoughtlessly ; 
But  ye,  I  charge  you,  see  ye  shame  me  not. 
With  this  your  life's  bloom  drawing  all  men's  eyes. 
The  goodly  vintage  is  full  hard  to  watch. 
All  men  and  beasts  make  fearful  havoc  of  it, 
Nay,  birds  that  fly,  and  creeping  things  of  earth  ; 
And  Kypris  offers  fruitage,  dropping  ripe, 
*As  prey  to  wandering  lust,  nor  lets  it  stay ; ' 
And  on  the  goodly  comeliness  of  maidens  ** 

Each  passer-by,  o'erccme  with  hot  desire, 

i  The  words  present  a  striking  parallelism  to  the  erotic 
imagery  of  the  Song  of  Solomon:  "Take  us  the  foxes,  the  little 
foxes  that  spoil  our  vines,  for  our  vines  have  tender  grapes  " 

("•  15)- 

206 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

Darts  forth  the  amorous  arrows  of  the  eye. 

And  therefore  let  us  suffer  nought  of  this, 

Through  which  our  ship  has  ploughed  such  width  of  sea, 

Such  width  of  trouble ;  neither  let  us  work 

Shame  to  ourselves,  and  pleasure  to  our  foes. 

This  two-fold  choice  of  home  is  open  to  you : 

[Pelasgos  offers  his,  the  city  theirs,] 

To  dwell  rent-free.      Full  easy  terms  are  these : 

Only,  I  charge  you,  keep  your  father's  precepts, 

Prizing  as  more  than  life  your  chastity.  •'* 

Chor.  May  the  high  Gods  that  on  Olympos  dwell 
Bless  us  in  all  things ;  but  for  this  our  vintage 
Be  of  good  cheer,  my  father;  for  unless 
The  counsels  of  the  Gods  work  strange  device, 
I  will  not  leave  my  spirit's  former  path. 

Strophe  I 
Semi-Chor.  A.   Go  then  and  make  ye  glad  the  high 
Gods,  blessed  for  ever, 
Those  who  rule  our  towns,  and  those  who  watch  over 

our  city, 
And  they  who  dwell  by  the  stream  of  Erasinos  ancient.' 
Semi-Chr.  B.  And  ye,  companions  true. 

Take  up  your  strain  of  song.  '"** 

Let  praise  attend  this  city  of  Pelasgos ; 
Let  us  no  more,  no  more  adore  the  mouths  of  Neilos 
With  these  our  hymns  of  praise; 

Antistrophe  1 
Semi-Chr.  A.  Nay,  but  the  rivers  here  that  pour 
calm  streams  through  our  country,* 

1  The  Erasinos  wa-?  supposed  to  rise  in  Arcadia,  in  Mount 
Slyniphalos,  to  disappear  below  the  earth,  and  to  come  to  sight 
again  in  Argolis. 

'^  In  this  fina'  choral  ode  of  the  Suppliants,  as  in  that  of  the 
Sevin  against  I'hebes,  we  have  the  phenomenon  of  the  division  of 

2C7 


THE    SUPPLIANTS 

Parents  of  many  a  son,  making  glad  the  soil  of  our 

meadows, 
With  wide   flood   rolling  on,  in  full   and   abounding 
richness. 
Semi-Chor.  B.  And  Artemis  the  chaste, 

May  she  behold  our  band  *•" 

With  pity  ;  ne'er  be  marriage  rites  enforced 
On  us  by  Kythereia  :  those  who  hate  us, 
Let  that  ill  prize  be  theirs. 

Strophe  II 

Semi-Chor.  A.  Not  that  our  kindly  strain  does  slight 
to  Kypris  immortal  ; 
For  she,   together  with  Hera,  as   nearest  to  Zeus    is 

mighty, 

A  goddess  of  subtle  thoughts,  she  is  honoured  in  m}'s- 

teries  solemn. 

Semi-Chor.  B.  Yea,  as  associates  too  with  that  their 

mother  beloved,  '°^ 

Are  fair  Desire  and  Suasioti,^  whose  pleading  no  man 

can  gainsay. 
Yea,  to  sweet  Concord  too  Aphrodite's  power  is  en- 
trusted, 
*And  the  whispering  paths  of  the  Loves. 


the  Choras,  hitherto  united,  into  two  sections  of  divergent 
thought  and  purpose.  Semi-Chorus  A.  remains  steadfast  in  its 
purpose  of  perpetual  virginity  ;  Semi-Chorus  B.  relents,  and  is 
ready  to  accept  wedlock. 

1  The  two  names  were  closely  connected  in  the  local  worship 
of  Athens,  the  temples  of  Aphrodite  and  Peiiho  (Suasion)  standing 
at  the  south-west  angle  of  the  Acropolis.  If  any  special  purpose 
is  to  be  traced  in  the  invocation,  we  may  see  it  in  the  p'let's 
desire  to  bring  out  the  nobler,  more  ethical  side  of  Aphrodite's 
attributes,  in  contiast  with  the  growing  tendency  to  look  on  her 
as  simply  the  patroness  of  brutal  last. 

20S 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Antistrophe,II. 

Semi-Chor.  A.  Yet  am  I  sore  afraid  of  the  ship  that 
chases  us  wanderers, 

Of  terrible  sorrows,  and  wars  that  are  bloody  and  hate- 
ful; 

•Why  else  have  they  had  fair  gale  for  this  their  eager 


pursuing 


Sgmi-CAor.  B.  Whate'er  is  decreed  of  us,  I  know 
that  it  needs  must  happen  ; 
The  mighty  purpose  of  Zeus,  unfailing,  admits  no 

transgression  : 
•May  this  fate  come  to  us,  as  to  many  women  before 
us, 
•Fate  of  marriage  and  spouse  ! 

Strophe  III 

Semi-Chor.  A.  Ah,  may  great  Zeus  avert 
From  me  all  marriage  with  ^Egyptos'  sons  ! 
Semi-Chor.  B.  Nay,  all  will  work  for  good. 
Semi  Char.   A.  Thou  glozest   that  which  will  no 

glozing  bear.  ^^*'^^ 

Semi-Chor.  B.  And  thou  know'st  not  what  future 

comes  to  us. 

Antistrophe  III 

Semi-Chor.  A.  How  can  I  read  the  mind 
Of  mightiest  Zeus,  to  sight  all  fathomless  ? 
Semi-Chor.  B.    Well-tempered  be  thy  speech  ! 
Semi-Chor.  A.  What  mood  of  calmness  wilt  thou 

school  me  in  ? 
Semi-Chor.  B.   Be  not  o'er-rash  in  what  concerns 

the  Gods. 
I  209  o 


THE   SUPPLIANTS 

Strophk  IV 

Semi-Chor.  A.  Nay,  may  our  great  king  Zeus  avert 
that  marriage 
With  husbands  whom  we  hate. 
E'en  He  who,  touching  her  with  healing  hand, 

Freed  lo  from  her  pain. 
Putting  an  end  from  all  her  wanderings, 

Working  with  kindly  force  !  *''^' 

Antistrophe  IV 

Semi-Chor.  B.  And  may  He  give  the  victory  to 
women  ! 
I  choose  the  better  part, 
Though  mixed  with  ill  ;  and  that  the  trial  end 

Justly,  as  I  have  prayed. 
By  means  of  subtle  counsels  which  God  gives 
To  liberate  from  ills.^ 


'  The  play,  as  acted,  forms  part  of  a  trilogy,  and  the  next- 
play,  the  Danaids,  probably  contained  the  sequel  of  the  siory, 
the  acceptance  by  the  Suppliants  of  the  sons  of  ^gyptos  in 
marriage,  the  plot  of  Danaos  for  the  destruction  of  the  bride- 
grooms on  the  wedding-night,  and  the  execution  of  the  deed  ot 
blood  by  all  but  Hypermnestra. 


Press  of  Isaac  Pilman  cS"  Sons,  Bath,  England. 
K  {2350) 


iESCHYLOS 


ESCHYLOS 

TRAGEDIES 

AND 

FRAGMENTS 


Translated  hy  the  late 

E.  H.   PLUMPTRE   D.D. 

Dean  oj  Welh 


WITH  NOTES  AND 
RHYMED  CHORAL  ODES 


IN    TWO    VOLUMES 
VOL.    II 


BOSTON   U  S.A. 
D.   C.   HEATH    &    CO.   PUBLISHERS 

1909 


CONTENTS 

Frontispiece — The  Acropolis  :   From  a  Drawing 

by  Hedlky  FiTTON 

Pa^e 
Agamemnon  .......  9 

The  Libation-Poubers  .         .         ,         .         .         87 

eumenides      ,         .         .         ,         .         ,         •        '37 

Fragments     .         .         .         .         ,         .         .185 

Rhymed  Choruses 

From  Agamemnon  .  .  .  ,  .191 
„  The  Libation-Pourers  .  .  .210 
„    Eumenides      .....       Z19 


AGAMEMNON 

DRAMATIS  PERSONiE 

Watchman  CLYT.?iMNESTRA  AGAMEMNON 

Chorus  of  Argive  Elders    He ra/d  (TAL.THY BIOS)  Cassandra 

iEGISTHOS 

ARGUMENT. — Ten  years  hud  passed  since  Aga- 
memnon, son  of  Atreus,  king  of  Mykence,  had  led  the 
Hellenes  to  Tro'ia  to  take  vengeance  on  A  lexandros  (also 
known  as  Paris),  son  of  Priam.  For  Paris  had  basely 
wronged  Menelaos,  king  of  Sparta,  Agamemnon's  brother, 
in  thai,  being  received  by  him  as  a  guest,  he  enticed  his 
wife  Helena  to  leave  her  lord  and  go  with  him  to  Tro'ia. 
And  now  the  tenth  year  had  come,  and  Paris  was  slain, 
and  the  city  of  the  Troians  was  taken  and  destroyed,  and 
Agamemnon  and  the  Hellenes  were  on  their  way  home- 
ward with  the  spoil  and  prisoners  they  had  taken.  But 
meanwhile  Clytcemnestra  too,  Agamemnon's  queen,  had 
been  unfaithful,  and  had  taken  as  her  paramour  JBgis- 
thos,  son  of  that  Thyestes  whom  Atreus,  his  brother,  had 
made  to  eat,  unknowing,  of  the  flesh  of  his  own  children. 
A  nd  now,  partly  led  by  her  adulterer,  and  partly  seeking 
to  avenge  the  death  of  her  daughter  iphigeneia,  whom 
Agamemnon  had  sacrificed  to  appease  the  wrath  of 
Artemis,  and  partly  also  jealous  because  he  was  bringing 
back  Cassandra,  the  daughter  of  Priam,  as  his  concubine, 
she  plotted  with  ^gisthos  against  her  husband's  life. 
II  9  A 


AGAMEMNON 

But  this  was  done  secretly,  and  she  stationed  a  guard  on 
the  roof  of  the  royal  palace  to  give  notice  when  he  saw 
the  beacon-fires,  by  which  Agamemnon  had  promised  that 
he  would  send  tidings  that  Troia  was  taken. 

Note. — The  unfaithfulness  of  Clytaemnestra  and  the  murder  of 
Agamemnon  had  entered  into  the  Homeric  cycle  of  the  legends 
of  the  house  of  Atreus.  In  the  Odyssey,  however,  ^gisthos  is 
the  chief  agent  in  this  crime  [Odyss.  iii.  264,  iv.  91,  532,  xi.  409); 
and  the  manner  of  it  differs  from  that  which  ^schylos  has 
adopted.  Clytasmnestra  first  appears  as  slaying  both  her 
husband  and  Cassandra  in  Pindar  \Pyth.  xL  26). 


10 


AGAMEMNON 

Scene. — Argos.      The  Palace  o/"  Agamemnon  ;  ttatutt  of  the  G»di 
m  front.      IVatchman  on  the  roof.      Time,  night. 

Watchman.  I  ask  the  Gods  a  respite  from  these  toils, 
This  keeping  at  my  post  the  whole  year  round. 
Wherein,  upon  the  Atreidae's  roof  reclined. 
Like  dog,  upon  my  elbow,  I  have  learnt 
To  know  night's  goodly  company  of  stars, 
And  those  bright  lords  that  deck  the  firmament, 
And  winter  bring  to  men,  and  harvest-tide  ; 
[The  rising  and  the  setting  of  the  stars.] 
And  now  I  watch  for  sign  of  beacon-torch, 
The  flash  of  fire  that  bringeth  news  from  Tro'ia, 
And  tidings  of  its  capture.     So  prevails 
*A  woman's  manly-purposed,  hoping  heart ;  " 

And  when  I  keep  my  bed  of  little  ease. 
Drenched  with  the  dew,  unvisited  by  dreams, 
(For  fear,  instead  of  sleep,  my  comrade  is, 
So  that  in  sound  sleep  ne'er  I  close  mine  eyes,) 
And  when  I  think  to  sing  a  tune,  or  hum, 
(My  medicine  of  song  to  ward  off  sleep,) 
Then  weep  I,  wailing  for  this  house's  chance. 
No  more,  as  erst,  right  well  administered. 
Well  !  may  I  now  find  blest  release  from  toils,  *" 

When  fire  from  out  the  dark  brings  tidings  good. 

\^Pauses^   then   springs  up  suddenly,  seeing  a 
light  in  the  distance 
Hail  !  thou  torch-bearer  of  the  night,  that  shedd'st 
Light  as  of  mom,  and  bringest  full  array 


AGAMEMNON 

Of  many  choral  bands  in  Argos  met, 

Because  of  this  success.     Hurrah!   hurrah! 

So  clearly  tell  I  Agamemnon's  queen, 

With  all  speed  rising  from  her  couch  to  raise 

Shrill  cry  of  triumph  o'er  this  beacon-fire 

Throughout  the  house,  since  Ilion's  citadel 

Is  taken,  as  full  well  that  bright  blaze  shows.  ** 

I,  for  my  part,  will  dance  my  prelude  now  ; 

[Leaps  and  dances 
For  I  shall  score  my  lord's  new  turn  of  luck, 
This  beacon-blaze  may  throw  of  triple  six.' 
Well,  would  that  I  with  this  mine  hand  may  touch 
The  dear  hand  of  our  king  when  he  comes  home  ! 
As  to  all  else,  the  word  is  "  Hush  ! "     An  ox* 
Rests  on  my  tongue  ;  had  the  house  a  voice 
'Twould  tell  too  clear  a  tale.      I'm  fain  to  speak 
To  those  who  know,  forget  with  those  who  know  not. 

[  Exit 

1  The  form  of  gambling  from  which  the  phrase  is  taken,  had 
clearly  become  common  in  Attica  among  the  class  to  which  the 
watchman  was  supposed  to  belong,  and  had  given  rise  to  pro- 
verbial phrases  lil<e  that  in  the  text.  The  Greeks  themselves 
supposed  it  to  have  been  invented  by  the  Lydians  (Herod,  i.  94), 
or  Palamedes,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  tale  of  Troia,  but  it 
enters  also  into  Egyptian  legends  (Herod,  ii.  122).  and  its  preva- 
lence from  remote  antiquity  in  the  farther  East,  as  in  the  Indian 
story  of  Nala  and  Damayanti,  makes  it  probable  that  it  origi 
nated  there.  The  game  was  commonly  played,  as  the  phrase 
shows,  with  three  dice,  the  highest  throw  being  that  which  gave 
three  sixes,  ^schylos,  it  may  be  noted,  appears  in  a  lost  drama, 
which  bore  the  title  of  Palamedes,  to  have  brought  the  game 
itself  into  his  plot.  It  is  referred  to,  as  invented  by  that  hero, 
in  a  fragment  of  Sophocles  {Pr.  380),  and  again  in  the 
proverb, — 

"  The  dice  of  Zeus  have  ever  lucky  throws." — (Fr.  763. ) 

2  Here,  also,  the  watchman  takes  up  another  common  pro- 
verbial phrase,  belonging  to  the  same  group  as  that  of  "  kicking 
against  the  pricks  "  in  v.  1624.  He  has  his  reasons  for  silence, 
weighty  as  would  be  the  tread  of  an  ox  to  close  his  lips. 


AGAMEMNON 

Enter  Chorus  of  twelve  Argive  elders,  chanting  as  they 
march  to  take  up  their  position  in  the  centre 
of  the  stage.     A  procession  of  women  bear- 
ing torches  is  seen  in  the  distance 
Lo  !   the  tenth  year  now  is  passing  *° 

Since,  of  Priam  great  avengers, 
Menelaos,  Agamemnon, 
Double-throned  and  doubled-sceptred, 
Power  from  sovran  Zeus  deriving —        , 
Mighty  pair  of  the  Atreidae — 
Raised  a  fleet  of  thousand  vessels 
Of  the  Argives  from  our  country, 
Potent  helpers  in  their  warfare. 
Shouting  cry  of  Ares  fiercely  ; 
E'en  as  vultures  shriek  who  hover. 
Wheeling,  whirling  o'er  their  eyrie,  ** 

In  wild  sorrow  for  their  nestlings, 
With  their  oars  of  stout  wings  rowing, 
Having  lost  the  toil  that  bound  them 
To  their  callow  fledglings'  couches. 
But  on  high  One, — or  Apollo, 
Zeus,  or  Pan, — the  shrill  cry  hearing, 
Cry  of  birds  that  are  his  clients,* 
Sendeth  forth  on  men  transgressing, 
Erinnys,  slow  but  sure  avenger  ; 
So  against  young  Alexandros* 
Atreus'  sons  the  great  King  sendeth, 
Zeus,  of  host  and  guest  protector  :  * 

He,  for  bride  with  many  a  lover. 
Will  to  Danai  give  and  Troians 
Many  conflicts,  men's  limbs  straining, 

^  The  vultures  stand,  i.e.,  to  the  rulers  of  Heaven,  in  the 
same  relation  as  the  foreign  sojourners  in  Athens,  the  Metoics, 
did  to  the  citizens  under  whose  protection  they  placed  them- 
selves. 

*  Alexandros.  the  other  name  of  Paris,  the  seducer  of  Helen. 


AGAMEMNON 

When  the  knee  in  dust  is  crouching, 

And  the  spear-shaft  in  the  onset 

Of  the  battle  snaps  asunder. 

But  as  things  are  now,  so  are  they. 

So,  as  destined,  shall  the  end  be. 

Nor  by  tears,  nor  yet  libations 

Shall  he  soothe  the  wrath  unbending 

Caused  by  sacred  rites  left  fireless.'  ^^ 

We,  with  old  frame  little  honoured, 

Left  behind  that  host  are  staying, 

Resting  strength  that  equals  childhood's 

On  our  staff :  for  in  the  bosom 

*Of  the  boy,  life's  young  sap  rushing. 

Is  of  old  age  but  the  equal  ; 

Ares  not  as  yet  is  found  there  : 

And  the  man  in  age  exceeding, 

When  the  leaf  is  sere  and  withered, 

Goes  with  three  feet  on  his  journey  ;  *  * 

Not  more  Ares-like  than  boyhood. 

Like  a  day-seen  dream  he  wanders. 

[Enter  Clyt^mnestra,  followed  by  the  procession 
of  torch-bearers 

Thou,  of  Tyndareus  the  daughter. 

Queen  of  Argos,  Clytaemnestra, 

What  has  happened  ?  what  news  cometh  ? 

1  The  words,  p>erhaps,  refer  to  the  grief  of  Menelaos,  as  lead- 
ing him  to  neglect  the  wonted  sacrifices  to  Zeus,  but  it  seems 
better  to  see  in  them  a  reference  to  the  sin  of  Paris.  He,  at 
least,  who  had  carried  off  his  host's  wife,  had  not  offered  accept- 
able sacrifices,  had  neglected  all  sacrifices  to  Zeus  Xenios,  the 
God  of  host  and  guest.  The  allusion  to  the  sacrifice  of  Iphi- 
geneia,  which  some  (Donaldson  and  Paley)  have  found  here, 
and  the  wrath  of  Clytaemnestra,  which  Agamemnon  will  fail  to 
soothe,  seems  more  far-fetched. 

3  An  allusion ,  such  as  the  audience  would  catch  and  delight 
in,  to  the  well-known  enigma  of  the  Sphinx.  See  Sophocles 
(Trans.),  p.  i. 

»4 


AGAMEMNON 

What  perceiving,  on  what  tidings 
Leaning,  dost  thou  put  in  motion 
All  this  solemn,  great  procession  ; 
Of  the  Gods  who  guard  the  city, 
Those  above  and  those  beneath  us, 
Of  the  heaven,  and  of  the  market,  •" 

Lo  !   with  thy  gifts  blaze  the  altars  ; 
And  through  all  the  expanse  of  Heaven, 
Here  and  there,  the  torch-fire  rises, 
With  the  flowing,  pure  persuasion 
Of  the  holy  unguent  nourished, 
*And  the  chrism  rich  and  kingly 
From  the  treasure-store's  recesses. 
Telling  what  of  this  thou  canst  tell, 
What  is  right  for  thee  to  utter. 
Be  a  healer  of  my  trouble, 
Trouble  now  my  soul  disturbing,  "* 

•While  anon  fond  hope  displaying 
Sacrificial  signs  propitious. 
Wards  off  care  that  no  rest  knoweth, 
Sorrow  mind  and  heart  corroding. 
[  The  Chorus,  taking  their  places  round  the  central 
thymele,  begin  their  song  ' 

1  The  Chorus,  though  too  old  to  take  part  in  the  exp)edition, 
are  yet  able  to  tell  both  of  what  passed  as  the  expedition  started, 
and  of  the  terrible  fulfilment  of  the  omens  which  they  had  seen. 
The  two  eagles  are,  of  course,  in  the  symbolism  of  prophecy,  the 
two  chieftains,  Menelaos  and  Agamemnon.  The  "  white 
feathers "  of  the  one  may  point  to  the  less  heroic  character  of 
Menelaos  :  so  in  V.  123,  they  are  of  "  diverse  mood."  The  hare 
whom  they  devour  is,  in  the  first  instance,  Troi'a,  and  so  far  the 
omen  is  good,  portending  the  success  of  the  exjjedition  ;  but,  as 
Artemis  bates  the  fierceness  of  the  eagles,  so  there  is,  in  the  eyes 
of  the  seer,  a  dark  token  of  danger  from  her  wrath  against  the 
Atreidae.  Either  their  victory  will  be  sullied  by  cruelty  which 
will  bring  down  vengeance,  or  else  there  is  some  secret  sin  in  the 
past  which  must  be  atoned  for  by  a  terrible  sacrifice.  In  the 
legend  followed  by  Sophocles  (Electr.  566),  Agamemnon  had 
offended  Artemis  by  slaying  a  doe  sacred  to  her,  as  he  was 
15 


AGAMEMNON 

Strophe 
Able  am  I  to  utter,  setting  forth 

The  might  from  omens  sprung 
*What  met  the  heroes  as  they  journeyed  on, 

(For  still,  by  God's  great  gift. 

My  age,  yet  linked  with  strength, 

*Breathes  suasive  power  of  song,) 
How  the  Achaeans'  twin-throned  majesty, 
Accordant  rulers  of  the  youth  of  Hellas,  *" 

With  spear  and  vengeful  hand. 
Were  sent  by  fierce,  strong  bird  'gainst  Teucrian  shore, 
Kings  of  the  birds  to  kings  of  ships  appearing. 

One  black,  with  white  tail  one. 
Near  to  the  palace,  on  the  spear-hand  side. 

On  station  seen  of  all, 
A  pregnant  hare  devouring  with  her  young. 

Robbed  of  all  runs  to  come  : 
Wail  as  for  Linos,  wail,  wail  bitterly. 

And  yet  may  good  prevail ! '  '*° 

hunting.  In  the  manifold  meanings  of  such  omens  there  is, 
probably,  a  latent  suggestion  of  the  sacrifice  of  Iphigeneia  by 
the  two  chieftains,  though  this  was  at  the  time  hidden  from  the 
seer.  The  fact  that  they  are  seen  on  the  right,  not  on  the  left 
hand,  was  itself  ominous  of  good. 

1  The  song  of  Linos,  originally  the  dirge  with  which  men 
mourned  for  the  death  of  Linos,  the  minstrel-son  of  Apollo  and 
Urania,  brother  of  Orpheus,  who  was  slain  by  Heracles — a  type, 
like  Thammuz  and  Adonis,  of  life  prematurely  closed  and  bright 
hopes  never  to  be  fulfilled, — had  come  to  be  the  representative  of 
all  songs  of  mourning.  So  Hesiod  (in  Eustath.  on  Hom.  //., 
vii.  569)  spf  aks  of  the  name,  as  applied  to  all  funeral  dirges  over 
poets  and  minstrels.  So  Herodotos  (ii.  79)  compares  it,  as  the 
type  of  this  kind  of  music  among  the  Greeks,  with  what  he 
found  in  Egypt  connected  with  the  name  of  Maneros,  the  only 
son  of  the  first  king  of  Egypt,  who  died  in  the  bloom  of  youth. 
The  name  had,  therefore,  as  definite  a  connotation  for  a  Greek 
audience  as  the  words  Miserere  or  Jubilate  would  have  for  us, 
and  ought  not,  I  believe,  to  disappear  from  the  translation. 


16 


AGAMEMNON 

Antistrophe 
And  the  wise  prophet  of  the  army  seeing 

The  brave  Atreidae  twain 
Of  diverse  mood,  knew  those  that  tore  the  hare, 

And  those  that  led  the  host ; 

And  thus  divining  spake: 

"  One  day  this  armament 
Shall  Priam's  city  sack,  and  all  the  herds 
Owned  by  the  people,  countless,  by  the  towers. 

Fate  shall  with  force  lay  low. 
Only  take  heed  lest  any  wrath  of  Gods  ••• 

Blunt  the  great  curb  of  Troia  yet  encamped. 

Struck  down  before  its  time ; 
For  Artemis  the  chaste  that  house  doth  hate, 

Her  father's  wingW  hounds, 
Who  slay  the  mother  with  her  unborn  young. 

And  loathes  the  eagles*  feast. 
Wail  as  for  Linos,  wail,  wail  bitterly ; 

And  yet  may  good  prevail! 

Epode 
"  *For  she,  the  fair  One,  though  so  kind  of  heart 
•To  fresh-dropt  dew  from  mighty  lion's  womb,^ 

And  young  that  suck  the  teats 

Of  all  that  roam  the  fields,  ^^ 

*Yet  prays  Him  bring  to  pass 

The  portents  of  those  birds, 
The  omens  good  yet  also  full  of  dread. 

And  Pjean  I  invoke 
As  Healer,  lest  she  on  the  Danai  send 

Delays  that  keep  the  ships 

Long  time  with  hostile  blasts, 

1  The  comparison  of  a  lion's  whelps  (o  dew-drops,  bold  as  the 
figure  is,  has  something  in  it  analogous  to  that  with  which  we 
are  more  familiar,  describing  the  children,  or  the  army  ofaking, 
as  the  "  dew  "  from  "  the  womb  of  the  morning  "  (Ps.  ex.  3). 

U  17  B 


AGAMEMNON 

So  urging  on  a  new,  strange  sacrifice, 

Unblest,  unfestivalled,^ 
By  natural  growth  artificer  of  strife, 
Bearing  far  other  fruit  than  wife's  true  fear, 

For  there  abideth  yet. 

Fearful,  recurring  still, 
Ruling  the  house,  full  subtle,  unforgetting. 

Vengeance  for  children  slain."*  "" 

Such  things,  with  great  good  mingled,  Calchas  spake, 

In  voice  that  pierced  the  air, 
As  destined  by  the  birds  that  crossed  our  path 

To  this  our  kingly  house : 

And  in  accord  with  them, 
Wail  as  for  Linos,  wail,  wail  bitterly ; 

And  yet  maygood  prevail. 

Strophe  I 
O  Zeus — whate'er  He  be,' 
If  that  Name  please  Him  well. 
By  that  on  Him  I  call : 

1  The  sacrifice,  i.e.,  was  to  be  such  as  could  not,  according 
to  the  customary  ritual,  form  a  feast  for  the  worshippers. 

2  The  dark  words  look  at  once  before  and  a  ter,  back  to  the 
murder  of  the  sons  of  Thyestes,  forward,  though  of  this  the  seer 
knew  not,  to  the  sacrifice  of  Iphigeneia.  Clytaemnestra  is  the 
embodiment  of  the  Vengeance  of  which  the  Chorus  speaks. 

'  As  a  part  of  the  drama  the  whole  passage  that  follows  is  an 
assertion  by  the  Chorus  that  in  this  their  trouble  they  will  turn 
to  no  other  God,  invoke  no  other  name,  but  that  of  the  Supreme 
Zeus.  But  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  they  have  a  meaning 
beyond  this,  and  are  the  utterance  by  the  poet  of  his  own 
theology.  In  the  second  part  of  the  Promethean  trilogy  (all 
that  we  now  know  of  it)  he  had  represented  Zeus  as  ruling  in 
the  might  of  despotic  sovereignty,  the  representative  of  a  Power 
which  men  could  not  resist,  but  also  could  not  love,  inflicting 
needless  sufferings  on  the  "^ons  of  men.  Now  he  has  grown 
wiser.  The  sovereignty  of  Zeus  is  accepted  as  part  of  the  present 
order  of  the  world  ;  trust  in  Him  brings  peace  ;  the  pain  which 
He  permits  is  the  one  only  way  to  wisdom.  The  stress  laid  upon 
the  name  of  Zeus  implies  a  wish  to  cleave  to  the  religion  inherited 
1% 


AGAMEMNON 

Weighing  all  other  names  I  fail  to  guess 
Aught  else  but  Zeus,  if  I  would  cast  aside, 

Clearly,  in  every  deed. 
From  off  my  soul  this  idle  weight  of  care.  '* 

Anthtrophe  I 

Nor  He  who  erst  was  great,* 

Full  of  the  might  to  war, 

•Avails  now ;  He  is  gone ; 
And  He  who  next  came  hath  departed  too, 
His  victor  meeting ;  but  if  one  to  Zeus, 

High  triumph-praise  should  sing, 
His  shall  be  all  the  wisdom  of  the  wise ; 

Stiophe  II 

Yea,  Zeus,  who  leadeth  men  in  wisdom's  way,  *'" 

And  fixeth  fast  the  law. 

That  pain  is  gain  ; 
And  slowly  dropping  on  the  heart  in  sleep 

Comes  woe-recording  care. 
And  makes  the  unwilling  yield  to  wiser  thoughts : 
And  doubtless  this  too  comes  from  grace  of  Gods, 
*Seated  in  might  upon  their  awful  thrones. 

from  the  older  Hellenes,  as  contrasted  with  those  with  which 
their  intercourse  with  the  East  had  made  the  Athenians  familiar. 
Like  the  voice  which  came  to  Epimenides.  as  he  was  building  a 
sane  uary  to  the  Muses,  bidding  him  dedicate  it  not  to  them  but 
to  Zeus  (Diog.  Laert.  i.  lo),  it  represents  a  faint  approximation 
to  a  truer,  more  monotheistic  creed  than  that  of  the  popular 
mythology. 

1  The  two  mighty  ones  who  have  passed  away  are  Uranos 
and  Cronos,  the  representatives  in  Greek  mvthology  of  the 
earlier  stagas  of  the  worlds  history,  (i)  mere  matmal  creation, 
(2)  an  id^-pl  period  of  harmony,  a  golden,  Saturnian  age,  pre- 
ceding the  present  order  of  divme  government  with  its  mingled 
good  and  evil.     Comp.  Hesiod.  Tktogan.,  459, 


»9 


AGAMEMNON 

Antistrophk  II 
And  then  of  those  Achaean  ships  the  chief,* 

The  elder,  blaming  not 

Or  seer  or  priest ; 
But  tempered  to  the  fate  that  on  him  smote.  .  .  .    "° 

When  that  Achaean  host 
Were  vexed  with  adverse  winds  and  failing  stores, 
Still  kept  where  Chalkis  in  the  distance  lies. 
And  the  vexed  waves  in  Aulls  ebb  and  flow  ; 

Strophe  III 
And  breezes  from  the  Strymon  sweeping  down, 
Breeding  delays  and  hunger,  driving  forth 

Our  men  in  wandering  course, 

On  seas  without  a  port. 
Sparing  nor  ships,  nor  rope,  nor  sailing  gear, 
With  doubled  months  wore  down  the  Argive  host  ;  '^ 

And  when,  for  that  wild  storm, 
Of  one  more  charm  far  harder  for  our  chiefs 
The  prophet  told,  and  spake  of  Artemis,'' 

In  tone  so  piercing  shrill, 
The  Atreidae  smote  their  staves  upon  the  ground. 

And  could  not  stay  their  tears. 

Antistrophk  III 
And  then  the  old  king  lifted  up  his  voice, 
And  spake,  "  Great  woe  it  is  to  disobey  ; 

Great  too  to  slay  my  child,  "• 

The  pride  and  joy  of  home, 
Polluting  with  the  streams  of  maiden's  blood 
Her  father's  hands  upon  the  altar  steps. 

What  course  is  free  from  ill  f 

1  The  Chorus  returns,  after  its  deeper  speculative  thoughts,  to 
,  its  interrupted  narrative. 

2  The  seer  saw  his  augury  fulfilled.  When  he  uttered  the 
name  of  Artemis  it  was  pregnant  with  all  the  woe  which  he  had 
foreboded  at  the  outset. 

to 


no 


AGAMEMNON 

How  lose  my  ships  and  fail  of  mine  allies  ? 

'Tis  meet  that  they  with  strong  desire  should  seek, 

A  rite  the  winds  to  soothe, 
E'en  though  it  be  with  blood  of  maiden  pure  ; 

May  all  end  well  at  last !  " 

Strophe  III 
So  when  he  himself  had  harnessed 
To  the  yoke  of  Fate  unbending, 
With  a  blast  of  strange,  new  feeling, 
Sweeping  o'er  his  heart  and  spirit, 
Aweless,  godless,  and  unholy. 
He  his  thoughts  and  purpose  altered 
To  full  measure  of  all  daring, 
(Still  base  counsel's  fatal  frenzy. 
Wretched  primal  source  of  evils, 
Gives  to  mortal  hearts  strange  boldness,) 
And  at  last  his  heart  he  hardened 
His  own  child  to  slay  as  victim. 
Help  in  war  that  they  were  waging. 
To  avenge  a  woman's  frailty. 
Victim  for  the  good  ship's  safety. 

Antistrophk  III 

All  her  prayers  and  eager  callings,  *^ 

On  the  tender  name  of  Father, 

All  her  young  and  maiden  freshness, 

They  but  set  at  nought,  those  rulers, 

In  their  passion  for  the  battle. 

And  her  father  gave  commandment 

To  the  servants  of  the  Goddess, 

When  the  prayer  was  o'er,  to  lift  her, 

Like  a  kid,  above  the  altar, 

In  her  garments  wrapt,  face  downwards, — ' 

1  So  that  the  blood  may  f;ill  upon  the  altar,  as  the  knife  was 
drawn  across  the  thioat. 


AGAMEMNON 

Yea,  to  seize  with  all  their  courage, 
And  that  o'er  her  lips  of  beauty 
Should  be  set  a  watch  to  hinder 
Words  of  curse  against  the  houses. 
With  the  gag's  strength  silence-working.* 

Strophe  IV 

And  she  upon  the  ground 
Pouring  rich  folds  of  veil  in  saffron  dyed,       "*' 
Cast  at  each  one  of  those  who  sacrificed 
A  piteous  glance  that  pierced. 
Fair  as  a  pictured  form  ; ' 
And  wishing, — all  in  vain, — 
To  speak  ;  for  oftentimes 
In  those  her  father's  hospitable  halli 
She  sang,  a  maiden  pure  with  chastest  song, 

*And  her  dear  father's  life 
That  poured  its  threefold  cup  of  praise  to  God,* 
Crowned  with  all  choicest  good, 
She  with  a  daughter's  love 
Was  wont  to  celebrate. 

Antistrophe  IV 

What  then  ensued  mine  eyes 
Saw  not,  nor  may  I  tell,  but  Calchas'  arts  '•' 

1  The  whole  passage  should  be  compared  with  the  magnificent 
description  in  Lucretius  i.  84-101. 

2  Beautiful  as  a  picture,  and  as  motionless  and  silent  also. 
The  art,  young  as  it  was,  had  already  reached  the  stage  when 
it  supplied  to  the  poet  an  ideal  standard  of  perfection.  Other 
allusions  to  it  are  found  in  vv.  774,  1300. 

3  The  words  point  to  the  ritual  of  Greek  feasts,  which  assigned 
the  first  libation  to  Zeus  and  the  Olympian  Gods,  the  second  to 
the  Heroes,  the  third  to  Zeus  in  his  special  character  as  Saviour 
and  Preserver  ;  the  last  was  commonly  accompanied  by  a  paean, 
hymn  of  praise.  The  life  of  Agamemnon  is  described  as  one 
which  had  good  cause  to  offer  many  such  libations.  Iphigeneia 
had  sung  many  such  paeans. 


AGAMEMNON 

Were  found  not  fruitless.     Justice  turns  the  scale 

For  those  to  whom  through  pain 

At  last  comes  wisdom's  gain. 

*But  for  our  future  fate, 

•Since  help  for  it  is  none, 
•Good-bye  to  it  before  it  comes,  and  this 
Has  the  same  end  as  wailing  premature  ; 

For  with  to-morrow's  dawn 
It  will  come  clear  ;  may  good  luck  crown  our  fate  ! 

So  prays  the  one  true  guard. 

Nearest  and  dearest  found. 

Of  this  our  Apian  land.' 
[The  Chief  of  tht  Chorus  turns  tt  Clyt^mnestra,  ana 
her  train  of  handmaids,  who  are  seen  ap- 
proaching 

Chor.  I  come,  O  Clytaemnestra,  honouring 
Thy  majesty  :  'tis  meet  to  pay  respect 
To  a  chiefs  wife,  the  man's  throne  empty  left  :        "" 
But  whether  thou  hast  heard  good  news,  or  else 
In  hopes  of  tidings  glad  dost  sacrifice, 
I  fain  would  hear,  yet  will  not  silence  blame. 

Clyteem.  May  Morning,  as  the  proverb  runs,  appear 
Bearing  glad  tidings  from  his  mother  Night  !  ' 
Joy  thou  shalt  learn  beyond  thy  hope  to  hear  ; 
For  Argives  now  have  taken  Priam's  city. 

Cher.  What  ?     Thy  words  sound  so  strange  they 
flit  by  me. 

1  The  mythical  explanation  of  this  title  for  the  Arpive  territory 
is  found  in  the  Suppt.  v.  256,  and  its  real  meaning  is  discussed 
in  a  note  to  that  passage. 

'  To  speak  of  Morning  as  the  child  of  Night  was,  we  may  well 
believe,  among  the  earliest  parables  of  nature.  In  its  mythical 
form  it  appears  in  Hesiod  (Theogon.  123),  but  its  traces  are 
found  wherever,  as  among  Hebrews,  Athenians,  Germans,  men 
reckoned  by  nights  rather  than  by  da)s,  and  spoke  of  "  th« 
evening  and  the  morning  "  rather  than  of  "  day  and  ni^ht," 

*3 


AGAMEMNON 

Clytam.  The  Achsans  hold  Troia.     Speak  I  clear 
enough  ?  ^^ 

Chor    Joy  creeps  upon  me,  drawing  forth  my  tears. 

Clytam.  Of  loyal  heart  thine  eyes  give  token  true. 

Chor.  What   witness    sure    hast    thou    of  these 
events  ? 

Clytam.  Full  clear  (how  else  ?)  unless  the  God  de- 
ceive.' 

Chr.  Reliest  thou  on  dreams  or  visions  seen  r 

Clytam.  I   place  no  trust  in  mind  weighed  down 
with  sleep.'' 

Chor.  Hath  then  some  wingless  omen  charmed  thy 
soul ?  ^ 

Clytam.  My  mind  thou  scorn'st,  as  though  'twere 
but  a  girl's. 

Chor.  What    time   has  passed  since  they  the   city 
sacked  } 

Clyteem.  This  very  night,  the  mother  of  this  morn.  *™ 

Chor.  What  herald  could  arrive  with  speed  like  this  ? 

Ciytaem.  Hephsestos  flashing  forth  bright  flames  from 
Ida: 
Beacon  to  beacon  from  that  courier-fire 
Sent  on  its  tidings  ;  Ida  to  the  rock^ 

1  The  God  thought  of  is,  as  in  v.  272,  Hephapstos,  as  being 
Lord  of  the  Fire,  that  had  brought  the  tidings. 

3  It  is  not  without  significance  that  Clyta;iiinestra  scorns  the 
channel  of  divine  instruction  of  which  the  Chorus  had  spoken 
with  such  reverence.  The  dramatist  puts  into  her  mouth  the 
language  of  those  who  scoffed  at  the  notion  that  truth  miglit 
come  to  the  soul  in  "  visions  of  the  night,"  when  "deep  sleep 
falleth  upon  men."  So  Sophocles  puts  like  thoughts  into  the 
mouth  of  Jocasta  (CEd.  King,  vv.  709,  858). 

'  Omens  Cime  from  the  flight  of  birds.  An  omen  which  was 
not  trustworthy,  or  belonged  to  some  lower  form  of  divination, 
might  therefore  be  spoken  of  as  "wingless."  But  the  word  may 
possibly  be  intensive,  not  i  egative,  "swift-winged,"  and  then 
refer  generically  to  that  form  of  divination. 

*  1  he  description  that  follows,  over  and  above  its  general 
interest,  had,  probably,  for  an  Athenian  audience,  that  of  repr^- 

H 


AGAMEMNON 

Hermaean  named,  in  Lemnos :  from  the  isle 

The  height  of  Athos,  dear  to  Z^us,  received 

A  third  great  torch  of  flame,  and  lifted  up, 

So  as  on  high  to  skim  the  broad  sea's  back. 

The  stalwart  fire  rejoicing  went  its  way  ; 

The  pine-wood,  like  a  sun,  sent  forth  its  light 

Of  golden  radiance  to  Makistos'  watch  ;  '*' 

And  he,  with  no  delay,  nor  unawares 

Conquered  by  sleep,  performed  his  courier's  part : 

Far  off  the  torch-light,  to  Euripos'  straits 

Advancing,  tells  it  to  Messapion's  guards : 

They,  in  their  turn,  lit  up  and  passed  it  on, 

Kindling  a  pile  of  dry  and  aged  heath. 

Still  strong  and  fresh  the  torch,  not  yet  grown  dim. 

Leaping  across  Asopos'  plain  in  guise 

Like  a  bright  moon,  towards  Kithasron's  rock, 

Roused  the  next  station  of  the  courier  flame.  *" 

And  that  far-travelled  light  the  sentries  there 

Refused  not,  burning  more  than  all  yet  named : 

And  then  the  light  swooped  o'er  Gorgopis'  lake. 

And  passing  on  to  -/Egiplanctos'  mount. 

Bade  the  bright  fire's  due  order  tarry  not ; 

And  they,  enkindling  boundless  store,  send  on 

A  mighty  beard  of  flame,  and  then  it  passed 

SPnting  the  actual  succession  of  beacon -si  ations,  by  which  they, 
m  the  course  of  the  wars,  under  Pericles,  had  actually  received 
intelligenre  from  the  coasts  of  Asia.  A  glance  at  the  map  will 
show  the  fitness  of  the  places  named — Ida.  Lemnos,  Athos, 
Makistos  (a  mountain  in  Euboea),  Messapion  (on  the  coa?t  of 
Boeoiia),  over  the  plains  of  the  As6pos  to  Kithaeron,  in  the  south  of 
the  same  province,  then  over  Gorgopis,  a  bay  of  the  Corinthian 
Gulf,  to  ^giplanctos  in  Megaris,  then  across  to  a  headland 
overlooking  the  Saronic  Gulf,  to  the  Arachnasan  hill  in  Argoiis. 
The  word  "courier-fire"  connects  itself  also  with  the  system  of 
posts  or  messengers,  which  the  Persian  kings  seem  to  have  been 
the  first  to  organise,  and  which  impressed  the  minds  both  of 
Hebrews  (Esth.  viii.  14)  and  Gieeks  (Herod,  viii.  98)  by  their 
regular  iransmiss.on  of  the  king's  edicts,  or  of  special  news. 


AGAMEMNON 

The  headland  e'en  that  looks  on  Saron's  gulf, 

Still  blazing.     On  it  swept,  until  it  came 

To  Arachnaean  heights,  the  watch-tower  near  ;         ** 

Then  here  on  the  Atreidas's  roof  it  swoops. 

This  light,  of  Ida's  fire  no  doubtful  heir. 

Such  is  the  order  of  my  torch-race  games ; 

One  from  another  taking  up  the  course,^ 

But  here  the  winner  is  both  first  and  last ; 

And  this  sure  proof  and  token  now  I  tell  thee. 

Seeing  that  my  lord  hath  sent  it  me  from  Troia. 

Chor.  I  to  the  Gods,  O  Queen,  will  pray  hereafter, 
But  fain  would  I  hear  all  thy  tale  again. 
E'en  as  thou  tell'st,  and  satiate  my  wonder.  *^° 

Clytaem.  This  very  day  the  Achaeans  Troia  hold. 

1  Our  ignorance  of  the  details  of  the  Lampadepkoria,  or 
"torch-race  games,"  in  honour  of  the  fire-God,  Prometheus, 
makes  the  allusion  to  them  somewhat  obscure.  As  described 
by  Pausanias  (I.  xxx.  2),  the  runners  started  with  lighted  torches 
from  the  altar  of  Prometheus  in  the  Academeia  and  ran  towards 
the  city,  llie  first  who  reached  the  goal  with  his  torch  still 
burning  became  the  winner.  If  all  the  torches  were  extinguished, 
then  all  were  losers.  As  so  described,  however,  there  is  no  suc- 
cession, no  taking  the  torch  from  one  and  passing  it  on  to 
another,  like  that  described  here  and  in  the  well-known  line  of 
Lucretius  (ii.  78), 

"  Et  quasi  cursores  vita!  lampada  tradunt." 
(And  they,  as  runners,  pass  the  torch  of  life.) 
On  the  other  hand,  there  are  descriptions  which  show  that  such 
a  transfer  was  the  chief  element  of  the  game.    This  is,  indeed, 
implied  both  in  this  passage  and  in  the  comparison  between  the 
game  and  the  Persian  courier-system  in  Herod,  viii.  98.    The 
two  views  maybe  reconciled  by  supposing  (i)  that  there  were 
sets  of  runners,  vying  with  each  other  as  such,  rather  than  in- 
dividually, or  (2)  that  a  runner  whose  speed  failed  him  though 
his  torch  kept  burning,  was  allowed  to  hand  it  on  to  another  who 
was  more  liliely  to  win  the  race,  but  whose  torch  was  out.     The 
next  line  seems  meant  to  indicate  where  the  comparison  failed.  In 
the  torch- race  which  Clytsemnestra  describes  there  had  been  no 
contest.    One  and  the  self-same  fire  (the  idea  of  succession  passing 
into  that  of  continuity)  had  started  and  had  reached  the  goal,  and 
so  had  won  the  prize.     An  alternative  rendering  would  be, — 
"  He  wins  who  is  first  in,  though  starting  last." 
26 


AGAMEMNON 

I  trow  full  diverse  cry  pervades  the  town  : 

Pour  in  the  same  vase  vinegar  and  oil, 

•And  you  would  call  them  enemies,  not  friends ; 

And  so  from  conquerors  and  from  captives  now 

The  cries  of  varied  fortune  one  may  hear. 

For  these,  low-fallen  on  the  carcases 

Of  husbands  and  of  brothers,  children  too 

By  aged  fathers,  mourn  their  dear  ones'  death, 

And  that  with  throats  that  are  no  longer  free.  *" 

And  those  the  hungry  toil  of  sleepless  guard, 

After  the  battle,  at  their  breakfast  sets ; 

Not  billeted  in  order  fixed  and  clear. 

But  just  as  each  his  own  chance  fortune  grasps, 

They  in  the  captive  houses  of  the  Troians 

Dwell,  freed  at  last  from  all  the  night's  chill  frosts. 

And  dews  of  heaven,  for  now,  poor  wretches,  they 

Will  sleep  all  night  without  the  sentry's  watch  ; 

And  if  they  reverence  well  the  guardian  Gods 

Of  that  new-conquered  country,  and  their  shrines,  ^ 

Then  they,  the  captors,  will  not  captured  be. 

Ah  I  let  no  evil  lust  attack  the  host 

Conquered  by  greed,  to  plunder  what  they  ought  not : 

For  yet  they  need  return  in  safety  home. 

Doubling  the  goal  to  run  their  backward  race.^ 

•But  should  the  host  come  sinning  'gainst  the  Gods, 

Then  would  the  curse  of  those  that  perished 

Be  watchful,  e'en  though  no  quick  ill  might  fall. 

Such  thoughts  are  mine,  mere  woman  though  I  be. 

May  good  prevail  beyond  all  doubtful  chance !  ^° 

For  I  have  got  the  blessing  of  great  joy. 

Chor.  Thou,  lady,  kindly,  like  a  sage,  dost  speak. 
And  I,  on  hearing  thy  sure  evidence, 

1  The  complete  foot-race  was  always  to  the  column  which 
marked  the  end  of  the  course,  round  it,  and  back  again.     In 
getting  to  Troia,  therefore,  but  half  the  race  was  done. 
»7 


AGAMEMNON 

Prepare  myself  to  give  the  Gods  due  thanks ; 

For  they  have  wrought  full  meed  for  all  our  toil. 

lExii  ChYTjeM.  with  her  train 
O  Zeus  our  King !     O  Night  beloved, 
Mighty  winner  of  great  glories, 
Who  upon  the  towers  of  Troia 
Casted'st  snare  of  closest  meshes, 
So  that  none  full-grown  or  youthful  *** 

Could  o'erleap  the  net  of  bondage, 
Woe  of  universal  capture  ; — 
Zeus,  of  host  and  guest  protector, 
Who  hath  brought  these  things,  I  worship ; 
He  long  since  on  Alexandros 
Stretched  his  bow  that  so  his  arrow 
Might  not  sweep  at  random,  missing. 
Or  beyond  the  stars  shoot  idly. 

Strophe  I 

Yes,  one  may  say,  'tis  Zeus  whose  blow  they  feel ; 

This  one  may  clearly  trace  : 

They  fared  as  He  decreed  : 

Yea,  one  there  was  who  said,  ** 

"  The  Gods  deign  not  to  care  for  mortal  men ' 
By  whom  the  grace  of  things  inviolable 

Is  trampled  under  foot." 

No  fear  of  God  had  he : 

1  Dramatically  the  words  refer  to  the  practical  impiety  of 
evildoers  like  Paris,  with,  perliaps,  a  half-latent  allusion  to  that  of 
Clytaemnestra.  But  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  for  the  Athenian 
audience  it  would  have  a  more  special  significance,  as  a  protest 
against  the  growing  scepticism,  what  in  a  later  age  would  have 
been  called  the  Epicureanism,  of  the  age  of  Pericles.  It  is  the 
assertion  of  the  belief  of  ^Eschylos  in  the  moral  government  of 
the  worM  The  very  vagueness  of  the  singular,  "  One  there 
was,"  would  lead  the  hearers  to  think  of  some  teacher  like 
Anaxagoras,  whom  they  suspected  of  Atheism. 

28 


AGAMEMNON 

•Now  is  it  to  the  children  manifest  • 

Of  those  who,  overbold, 
Breathed  rebel  War  beyond  the  bounds  of  Right, 
Their  houses  overfilled  with  precious  store 

•Above  the  golden  mean. 
•Ah !  let  our  life  be  free  from  all  that  hurts,  •'* 

So  that  for  one  who  gains 

Wisdom  in  heart  and  soul, 

That  lot  may  be  enough. 
Since  still  there  is  no  bulwark  strong  in  wealth 

Against  destruction's  doom, 
For  one  who  in  the  pride  of  wantonness 
Spurns  the  great  altar  of  the  Right  and  Just. 

Antistrophb  I 
Him  woeful,  subtle  Impulse  urges  on, 

Resistless  in  her  might, 

At^'s  far-scheming  child  : 

All  remedy  is  vain. 
It  is  not  hidden,  but  is  manifest. 
That  mischief  with  its  horrid  gleaming  light  ;  •** 

And,  like  to  worthless  bronze,^ 

By  friction  tried  and  tests. 
It  turns  to  tarnished  blackness  in  its  hue  : 

1  The  Chorus  sees  in  the  overthrow  of  Troia,  an  instance  of 
this  righteous  retribution.  The  audience  were,  perhaps,  in- 
tended to  think  also  of  the  punishment  which  had  fallen  on  the 
Persians  for  the  sacrilegious  acts  of  their  fathers.  The  "  things 
inviolable"  are  the  sanctities  of  the  ties  of  marriage  and  hospi- 
tality, both  of  which  Paris  had  set  at  nought. 

2  Here,  and  again  in  v.  612,  we  have  a  similitude  drawn  from 
the  metallurgy  of  Greek  artists.  Good  bronze,  made  of  copper 
and  tin,  takes  the  green  rust  which  collectors  prize,  but  when 
rubbed,  the  brightness  reappears.  If  zinc  be  substituted  for  tin, 
as  in  our  brass,  or  mixed  largely  with  it,  the  surface  loses  its 
polish,  oxidizes  and  becomes  black.  It  is,  however,  doubtful 
whether  this  combination  of  metals  was  at  the  time  in  use,  and 
the  words  may  simply  refer  to  different  degrees  of  exceUence  in 
bronze  f>ruperly  so  called. 


SM 


AGAMEMNON 

Since,  boy-like,  he  pursues 
A  bird  upon  its  flight,  and  so  doth  bring 
Upon  his  city  shame  intolerable  : 

And  no  God  hears  his  prayer, 

But  bringeth  low  the  unjust. 

Who  deals  with  deeds  like  this. 

Thus  Paris  came  to  the  Atreidae's  home, 

And  stole  its  queen  away. 
And  so  left  brand  of  shame  indelible 
Upon  the  board  where  host  and  guest  had  sat. 

Strophe  II 

She,  leaving  to  her  countrymen  at  home 
Wild  din  of  spear  and  shield  and  ships  of  war, 

And  bringing,  as  her  dower. 

To  Ilion  doom  of  death. 
Passed  very  swiftly  through  the  palace  gates, 

Daring  what  none  should  dare  ; 

And  many  a  wailing  cry 
They  raised,  the  minstrel  prophets  of  the  house, 

"  Woe  for  that  kingly  home  ! 
Woe  for  that  kingly  home  and  for  its  chiefi  !  ** 

Woe  for  the  marriage-bed  and  traces  left 

Of  wife  who  loved  her  lord  !  " 
♦There  stands  he  silent  ;  foully  wronged  and  yet 

•Uttering  no  word  of  scorn,^ 
*In  deepest  woe  perceiving  she  is  gone  ; 

1  In  a  corrupt  passage  like  this,  the  text  of  which  has  been 
so  variously  restored  and  rendered,  it  may  be  well  to  give  at 
least  one  alternative  version  : 

"There  stands  she  silent,  with  no  honour  met, 
Nor  yet  with  words  of  scorn. 
Sweetest  to  see  of  all  that  he  has  lost." 
The  words,  as  so  taken,  refer  to  the  vision  of  Hf^len.  described 
in  the  lines  that  folio*.     Another,   for  the  line  "  In  deepest 
woe,"  &c,  .  .  .  would  give, 

"  Believing  not  he  sees  the  lost  oae  there." 
30 


AGAMEMNON 

And  in  his  yearning  love 

For  one  beyond  the  sea, 
A  ghost  shall  seem  to  queen  it  o'er  the  house  ; 

The  grace  of  sculptured  forms^ 

Is  loathW  by  her  lord, 
And  in  the  penury  of  life's  bright  eyes 

All  Aphrodite's  charm 

To  utter  wreck  has  gone. 
Antistrophk  II 
And  phantom  shades  that  hover  round  in  dreams      *'" 
Come  full  of  sorrow,  bringing  vain  delight ; 

For  vain  it  is,  when  one 

Sees  seeming  shows  of  good, 
And  gliding  through  his  hands  the  dream  is  gone, 

After  a  moment's  space, 

On  wings  that  follow  still 
Upon  the  path  where  sleep  goes  to  and  fro. 

Such  are  the  woes  at  home 
Upon  the  altar  hearth,  and  worse  than  these. 
But  on  a  wider  scale  for  those  who  went 

From  Hellas'  ancient  shore, 
A  sore  distress  that  causeth  pain  of  heart  ** 

Is  seen  in  every  house. 
Yea,  many  things  there  are  that  touch  the  quick  : 

For  those  whom  each  did  send 

He  knoweth  ;  but,  instead 
Of  living  men,  there  come  to  each  man's  home 

Funeral  urns  alone, 

And  ashes  of  the  dead. 

Strophe  III 
For  Ares,  trafficking  for  golden  coin 

The  lifeless  shapes  of  men, 

1  The  art  of  Pheidias  had  already  made  it  natural  at  Athens 
to  speak  of  kings  as  decorating  their  palaces  with  the  life-size 
busts  or  statues  of  those  they  loved. 

3» 


AGAMEMNON 

And  in  the  rush  of  battle  holding  scales, 

Sends  now  from  Ilion 

Dust  from  the  funeral  pyre, 
A  burden  sore  to  loving  friends  at  home, 

And  bitterly  bewailed. 

Filling  the  brazen  urn 
With  well-smoothed  ashes  in  the  place  of  men  ; 

And  with  high  praise  they  mourn 
This  hero  skilled  and  valiant  in  the  fight. 
And  that  who  in  the  battle  nobly  fell. 

All  for  another's  wife  : 
And  other  words  some  murmur  secretly  ; 

And  jealous  discontent 
Against  the  Atreidas,  champions  in  the  suit. 

Creeps  on  all  stealthily  ; 

And  some  around  the  wall, 
In  full  and  goodly  form  have  sepulture 

There  upon  Ilion's  soil. 
And  their  foes'  land  inters  its  conquerors. 

Antistrophe  III 

And  so  the  murmurs  of  their  subjects  rise 

With  sullen  discontent. 
And  do  the  dread  work  of  a  people's  curse  ; 

And  now  my  boding  fear 

Awaits  some  news  of  ill. 
As  yet  enwrapt  in  blackness  of  the  night. 

Not  heedless  are  the  Gods 

Of  shedders  of  much  blood, 
And  the  dark-robed  Erinnyes  in  due  time. 

By  adverse  chance  of  life, 
Place  him  who  prospers  in  unrighteousness 
In  gloom  obscure  ;  and  once  among  the  unseen. 

There  is  no  help  for  him  : 
Fame  In  excess  is  but  a  perilous  thing ; 
3» 


AGAMEMNON 

For  on  men's  quivering  eyes 
Is  hurled  by  Zeus  the  blinding  thunder-bolt. 

I  praise  the  good  success 

Tlvat  rouses  not  God's  wrath  ; 
Ne'er  be  it  mine  a  city  to  lay  waste.' 

Nor,  as  a  prisoner,  see 
My  life  wear  on  beneath  another's  power  ! 

Epode 
And  now  at  bidding  of  the  courier  flame, 

The  herald  of  good  news, 
A  rumour  swift  spreads  through  the  city  streets,         **■ 
But  who  knows  clearly  whether  it  be  true, 
Or  whether  God  has  mingled  lies  with  it  i 
Who  is  so  childish  or  so  reft  of  sense, 

As  with  his  heart  a-glow 
At  that  fresh  uttered  message  of  the  flame, 
Tl  ea  to  wax  sad  at  changing  rumour's  sound  ? 
It  suits  the  mood  that  sways  a  woman's  mind 
To  pour  thanksgiving  ere  the  truth  is  seen  : 
Quickly,  with  rapid  steps,  too  credulous, 
The  limit  which  a  woman  sets  to  trust 

Advances  evermore  ; ' 

And  with  swift  doom  of  death  *'• 

A  rumour  spread  by  woman  perishes. 

\jis  the  Chorus  ends,  a  Herald  is  seen  approach- 
ing, his  head  toreathed  with  olive  ^ 

1  Here  again  one  may  note  a  protest  against  the  aggressive 
policy  of  Pericles,  an  assertion  of  the  principle  that  a  nation 
should  be  content  with  independence,  without  aiming  at 
supremacy. 

2  Perhaps  passively,  "  Soon  suffers  trespassers." 

*  As  the  play  opens  on  the  morning  of  the  dav  on  which 
Trola  was  taken,  and  now  we  have  the  arrivals,  first,  of  the 
herald,  and  then  of  Agamemnon,  after  the  capture  has  been 
completed,  and  the  spoil  divided,  and  the  fleet  escap)ed  a  storm, 
an  interval  r>f  some  days  must  \x  supposed  between  the  two 
parts  of  the  play,  the  imaginary  law  of  the  unities  notwitb- 
standing. 

H  33  ? 


AGAMEMNON 

Soon  we  shall  know  the  sequence  of  the  torches 

Light-giving,  and  of  all  the  beacon-fires, 

If  they  be  true  ;  or  if,  as  'twere  a  dream, 

This  sweet  light  coming  hath  beguiled  our  minds. 

I  see  a  herald  coming  from  the  shore, 

With  olive  boughs  o'ershadowed,  and  the  dust,' 

Dry  sister-twin  of  mire,^  announces  this, 

That  neither  without  voice,  nor  kindling  blaze 

Of  wood  upon  the  mountains,  he  will  signal  "" 

With  smoke  from  fire,  but  either  he  will  come, 

Withclear  speech  bidding  us  rejoice, or  else  .  .  .  [^pauses 

The  word  opposed  to  this  I  much  mislike. 

Nay,  may  good  issue  good  beginnings  crown ! 

who  for  our  city  utters  other  prayers, 

May  he  himself  his  soul's  great  error  reap ! 

Herald.  Hail,  soil  of  this  my  Argive  fatherland. 
Now  in  the  light  of  the  tenth  year  I  reach  thee, 
Though  many  hopes  are  shattered,  gaining  one. 
For  never  did  I  think  in  Argive  land 
To  die,  and  share  the  tomb  that  most  I  craved.         *"" 
Now  hail !  thou  land  ;  and  hail !  thou  light  of  day  : 
Zeus  our  great  ruler,  and  thou  Pythian  king, 
No  longer  darting  arrows  from  thy  bow.^ 
Full  hostile  wast  thou  by  Scamandros'  banks. 
Now  be  thou  Saviour,  yea,  and  Healer  found, 
O  king  Apollo !  and  the  Gods  of  war, 
These  I  invoke  ;  my  patron  Hermes  too, 
Dear  herald,  whom  all  heralds  reverence, — 


1  'I  he  customary  adornment  of  heralds  who  brought  good 
news.  Comp.  Sophocles,  CEd.  K.  v.  83.  The  custom  prevailed 
for  many  centuries,  and  is  recognised  by  Dante,  Purg.  ii.  70,  as 
usual  in  his  time  in  Italy. 

2  So  in  the  Seven  against  Thebn  (v.  494),  smoke  is  called 
"  the  sister  of  fire." 

»  A  probable  reference,  not  only  to  the  s^ory,  but  tp  the  actual 
words  of  Homer,  //.  i.  45-52. 

34 


AGAMEMNON 

Those  heroes,  too,  that  sent  us,' — graciously 

To  welcome  back  the  host  that  war  has  spared.         *•" 

Hail,  O  ye  royal  dwellings,  home  beloved  I 

Ye  solemn  thrones,  and  Gods  who  face  the  sun !  ^ 

If  e'er  of  old,  with  cheerful  glances  now 

After  long  time  receive  our  king's  array. 

For  he  is  come,  in  darkness  bringing  light 

To  you  and  all,  our  monarch,  Agamemnon. 

Salute  him  with  all  grace  ;  for  so  'tis  meet. 

Since  he  hath  dug  up  Tro'ia  with  the  spade 

Of  Zeus  the  Avenger,  and  the  plain  laid  waste ; 

Fallen  their  altars  and  the  shrines  of  Gods ;  "• 

The  seed  of  all  the  land  is  rooted  out. 

This  yoke  of  bondage  casting  over  Tro'ia, 

Our  chief,  the  elder  of  the  Atreidae,  comes, 

A  man  full  blest,  and  worthiest  of  high  honour 

Of  all  that  are.     For  neither  Paris'  self, 

Nor  his  accomplice  city  now  can  boast 

Their  deed  exceeds  its  punishment.     For  he. 

Found  guilty  on  the  charge  of  rape  and  theft,' 

Hath  lost  his  prize  and  brought  his  father's  house. 

With  lands  and  all,  to  waste  and  utter  wreck ; 

And  Priam's  sons  have  double  forfeit  paid.''  **• 

1  Specially  the  Dioscuri,  Castor  and  Polydeukes. 

'  Such  a  position  (especially  in  the  case  of  Zeus  or  Apollo)  was 
common  in  the  temples  both  of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  had  a 
very  obvious  signification.  As  the  play  was  performed,  the 
actual  hour  of  the  day  probably  coincided  with  that  required  by 
the  dramatic  sequence  of  events,  and  the  statues  of  the  Gods 
were  so  placed  on  the  stage  as  to  catch  the  rays  of  the  morning 
sun  when  the  herald  entered.  Hence  the  allusion  to  the  bright 
"cheerful  glances"  would  have  a  visible  as  well  as  ethical 
fitness. 

'  It  formed  part  of  the  guilt  of  Paris,  that,  besides  his  seduc- 
tion of  Helena,  he  had  carried  off  part  of  the  treasures  of 
Menelaos. 

*  The  idea  of  a  payment  twofold  the  amount  of  the  wrong 
done,  as  a  complete  sati.>- faction  to  the  sufferer,  was  common  in 
the  early  jurisprudence  both  of  Greeks  and  Hebrews  (Exgd.  xx,\i, 
35 


AGAMEMNON 

Chor.  Joy,  joy,  thou  herald  of  the  Achaean  host ! 

Her.  All  joy  is  mine  :  I  shrink  from  death  no  more, 

Chor.  Did  love  for  this  thy  fatherland  so  try  thee  ? 

Her.  So  that  mine  eyes  weep  tears  for  very  joy, 

Chor.  Disease  full  sweet  then  this  ye  suffered  from  . . . 

Her.  How  so  ?     When  taught,  I  shall  thy  meaning 
master. 

Chor.  Ye  longed  for  us  who  yearned  for  you  in  turn. 

Her.  Say'st  thou  this  land  its  yearning  host  yearned 
o'er  ? 

Chor.  Yea,  so  that  oft  I  groaned  in  gloom  of  heart. 

Her.    Whence  came  these   bodings  that  an  army 
hates  ?  "« 

Chor.  Silence  I've  held  long  since  a  charm  for  ill. 

Her.  How,  when  your  lords  were  absent,  feared  ye 
any  ? 

Chor.  To  use  thy  words,  death  now  would  welcome 
be. 

Her.  Good  is  the  issue ;  but  in  so  long  time 
Some  things,  one  well  might  say,  have  prospered  well. 
And  some  give  cause  for  murmurs.     Save  the  Gods, 
Who  free  from  sorrow  lives  out  all  his  life  ? 
For  should  I  tell  of  toils,  and  how  we  lodged 
Full  hardly,  seldom  putting  in  to  shore,' 
And  then  with  couch  full  hard.  .  .  .  What  gave  us  not 
Good  cause  for  mourning  ?     What  ill  had  we  not    **" 
As  daily  portion  ?     And  what  passed  on  land, 
That  brought  yet  greater  hardship :  for  our  beds 
Were  under  our  foes'  walls,  and  meadow  mists 

4-7).  In  some  cases  it  was  even  more,  as  in  the  four  or  fivefold 
restitution  of  Exod.  xxii.  i.  In  the  grand  opening  of  Isaiah's 
message  of  glad  tidings  the  fact  that  Jerusalem  has  received 
"  double  for  all  her  sins"  is  made  the  ground  on  the  strength  of 
which  she  may  now  hope  for  pardon.  Comp.  also  Isa.  Ixi.  7  ; 
Zech.  ix.  12. 
1  Ptihaps — 

"  Full  hardly,  and  the  close  and  crowded  decks,*" 
56 


AGAMEMNON 

From  heaven  and  earth  still  left  us  wringing  wet, 

A  constant  mischief  to  our  garments,  making 

Our  hair  as  shaggy  as  the  beasts'.^     And  if 

One  spoke  of  winter  frosts  that  killed  the  birds, 

By  Ida's  snow-storms  made  intolerable,^ 

Or  heat,  when  Ocean  in  its  noontide  couch 

Windless  reclined  and  slept  without  a  wave.  .  .  . 

But  why  lament  o'er  this  ?     Our  toil  is  past ;  "* 

Past  too  is  theirs  who  in  the  warfare  fell. 

So  that  no  care  have  they  to  rise  again. 

Why  should  I  count  the  number  of  the  dead, 

Or  he  that  lives  mourn  o'er  a  past  mischance  r 

To  change  and  chance  I  bid  a  long  Farewell : 

With  us,  the  remnant  of  the  Arglve  host. 

Good  fortune  wins,  no  ills  as  counterpoise. 

So  it  is  meet  to  this  bright  sun  we  boast. 

Who  travel  homeward  over  land  and  sea  ; 

"  The  Argive  host  who  now  have  captured  Troi'a,    ^^ 

These  spoils  of  battle*  to  the  Gods  of  Hellas 

Hang  on  their  pegs,  enduring  prize  and  joy."* 

Hearing  these  things  we  ought  to  bless  our  country 

And  our  commanders ;  and  the  grace  of  Zeus 

1  So  stress  is  laid  upon  this  form  of  hardsliip,  as  rising  from 
the  climate  of  TroTa,  by  Sophocles,  Aias,  1206. 

'  One  may  conjecture  that  here  also,  as  with  the  passage 
describing  the  succession  of  beacon  fires  (vv.  281-314),  the 
description  would  have  for  an  Athenian  audience  the  interest  of 
recalling  personal  rem  niscences  of  some  recent  campaign  in 
Thraki,  or  on  the  coasts  of  Asia. 

'  We  mav,  perhaps,  think  of  the  herald,  as  he  speaks,  placing 
some  representative  trophy  upon  the  pt^^gs  on  the  pedestals  of 
the  statues  of  the  great  Gods  of  Hellas,  whom  he  had  invoked 
on  his  entrance. 
*  Or. 

"  So  that  to  this  bright  morn  our  §ons  may  boast, 
As  they  o'er  land  and  ocean  take  their  flight, 
'  The  Argive  host  of  old,  who  captured  Troia, 
These  spoils  of  battle  to  the  Gods  of  Hellas, 
Hung  on  their  p)egs,  a  trophy  of  old  days.'  " 
37 


AGAMEMNON 

That  wrought  this  shall  be  honoured.    My  tale's  told. 
Chor.  Thy  words  o'ercome  me,  and  I  say  not  nay ; 
To  learn  good  keeps  youth's  freshness  with  the  old. 
'Tis  meet  these  things  should  be  a  special  care 
To  Clytaemnestra  and  the  house,  and  yet 
That  they  should  make  me  sharer  in  their  joy. 

Enter  Clyt^mnestra 

Clytam.  I  long  ago  for  gladness  raised  my  cry,     "" 
When  the  first  fiery  courier  came  by  night. 
Telling  of  Tro'ia  taken  and  laid  waste  : 
And  then  one  girding  at  me  spake,  "  Dost  think, 
Trusting  in  beacons,  Tro'ia  is  laid  waste  ? 
This  heart  elate  is  just  a  woman's  way." 
In  words  like  these  tJiey  made  me  out  distraught ; 
Yet  still  I  sacrificed,  and  with  a  strain 
Shrill  as  a  woman's,  they,  now  here,  now  there, 
Throughout  the  city  hymns  of  blessing  raised 
In  shrines  of  Gods,  and  lulled  to  gentle  sleep 
The  fragrant  flame  that  on  the  incense  fed.  '*' 

And  now  why  need'st  thou  lengthen  out  thy  words  ? 
I  from  the  king  himself  the  tale  shall  learn  ; 
And  that  I  show  all  zeal  to  welcome  back 
My  honoured  lord  on  his  return  (for  what 
Is  brighter  joy  for  wife  to  see  than  this, 
When  God  has  brought  her  husband  back  from  war. 
To  open  wide  her  gates  ?)  tell  my  lord  this, 
**  To  come  with  all  his  speed,  the  city's  idol  ;  " 
And  "  may  he  find  a  faithful  wife  at  home, 
Such  as  he  left  her,  noble  watch -dog  still  '"' 

For  him,  and  hostile  to  his  enemies  ; 
And  like  in  all  things  else,  who  has  not  broken 
One  seal  of  his  in  all  this  length  of  time.'" 

^  The    husband,   on    his   departure,    sealed    up   his    special 
treasures.     It  was  the  glory  of  the  faithful  wife  or   the  trusty 
steward  to  keep  these  seals  unbroken. 
-38 


AGAMEMNON 

No  pleasure  have  I  known,  nor  scandal  111 

With  any  other  more  than  ...  stains  on  bronze.' 

Such  is  my  vaunt,  and  being  full  of  truth, 

Not  shameful  for  a  noble  wife  to  speak.*  [Exit 

Chr.  [to  Herald^  She  hath  thus  spoken  in  thy  hear- 
ing now 
A  goodly  word  for  good  interpreters. 
But  tell  me,  herald,  tell  of  Menelaos,  "" 

If,  coming  home  again  in  safety  he 
Is  with  you,  the  dear  strength  of  this  our  land. 

Her.   I  cannot  make  report  of  false  good  news, 
So  that  my  friends  should  long  rejoice  in  it. 

Chor,  Ah  !   could'st  thou  good  news  speak,  and  also 
true  ! 
These  things  asunder  are  not  well  concealed. 

Hei\  The  chief  has  vanished  from  the  Achaean  host, 
He  and  his  ship.      I  speak  no  falsehood  here. 

1  There  is  an  ambiguity,  possibly  an  intentional  one,  in  the 
comparison  which  Ciytaemnejtra  uses.  If  there  was  no  such  art 
as  that  of  "  staining  bronze  "  (or  copper)  known  at  the  time,  the 
words  would  be  a  natural  phrase  enougli  to  describe  what  was 
represented  as  an  impossibility.  Later  on  in  the  history  of  art, 
however,  as  in  the  time  of  Plutarch,  a  process  so  desciibed 
(pernaps  analogous  to  enamelling)  is  mentioned  {De  Fyih. 
Orac.  5  2)  as  common.  If  we  suppose  the  att  to  have  been  a 
mystery  known  to  the  few,  but  not  to  the  many,  in  the  time  of 
^schylos,  then  the  words  would  have  for  the  hearers  the  point 
of  a  douhle  entendre,  iihe  seems  to  the  mass  to  disclaim  what 
yet,  to  those  in  the  secret  she  acknowledges. 

Another  rendering  refers  "bronze"  to  the  "sword,"  and 
makes  the  stains  those  of  blood  ;  as  though  she  said,  "  I  am  as 
guiltless  of  adul  cry  as  of  murder,"  while  yet  she  knew  that  she 
had  committed  the  one,  and  meant  to  commit  tie  other.  The 
possibility  of  such  a  meaning  is  certainly  in  the  words,  and  with 
a  sharp-witted  audience  catching  at  aenigrras  and  dark  sayings 
may  have  added  to  their  suggestivencss.  The  ambiguous  com- 
ment of  the  Chorus  shows  that  they  read,  as  between  the  lines, 
the  shameful  secret  which  they  knew,  but  of  which  the  Herald 
was  ignorant. 

2  The  last  two  lines  are  by  some  editors  assigned  to  the 
Herald. 

39 


AGAMEMNON 

Chor.   In  sight  of  all  when  he  from  Ilion  sailed  ? 
Or  did  a  storm's  wide  evil  part  him  from  you  ?  •'" 

Her.  Like  skilful  archer  thou  hast  hit  the  mark, 
And  in  few  words  has  told  of  evil  long. 

Chor.  And  was  it  of  him  as  alive  or  dead 
The  whisper  of  the  other  sailors  ran  : 

Her.  None  to  that  question  answer  clear  can  give. 
Save  the  Sun-God  who  feeds  the  life  of  earth. 

Chor.  How  say'st  thou  ?     Did  a  storm  come  on  our 
fleet, 
And  do  its  work  through  anger  of  the  Gods  ? 

Her.  It  is  not  meet  a  day  of  tidings  good 
To  mar  with  evil  news.     Apart  for  each  "*" 

Is  special  worship.      But  when  courier  brings 
With  louring  face  the  ills  men  pray  against, 
And  tells  a  city  that  its  host  has  fallen, 
That  for  the  State  there  is  a  general  wound, 
That  many  a  man  from  many  a  home  is  driven, 
As  banned  by  double  scourge  that  Ares  loves, 
Woe  doubly-barbed,  Death's  two-horsed  chariot  this . . . 
When  with  such  griefs  as  freight  a  herald  comes, 
'Tis  meet  to  chant  the  Erinnyes'  dolorous  song  ; 
But  for  glad  messenger  of  good  deeds  wrought 
That  bring  deliverance,  coming  to  a  town  "'' 

Rejoicing  in  its  triumph,  .  .   .  how  shall  I 
Blend  good  with  evil,  telling  of  a  storm 
That  smote  the  Achaeans,  not  without  God's  wrath  ? 
For  they  a  compact  swore  who  erst  were  foes, 
Ocean  and  Fire,  and  their  pledges  gave. 
Wrecking  the  ill-starred  army  of  the  Argives  ; 
And  in  the  night  rose  ill  of  raging  storm  : 
For  Thrakian  tempests  shattered  all  the  ships, 
Each  on  the  other.     Some  thus  crashed  and  bruised. 
By  the  storm  stricken  and  the  surging  foam 
Of  wind-tost  waves,  soon  vanished  out  of  sight,  ***" 

40 


AGAMEMNON 

Whirled  by  an  evil  pilot.     And  when  rose 

The  sun's  bright  orb,  behold,  the  ^gaean  sea 

Blossomed  with  wrecks  of  ships  and  dead  Achaeans. 

And  as  for  us  and  our  uninjured  ship, 

Surely  'twas  some  one  stole  or  begged  us  off, 

Some  God,  not  man,  presiding  at  the  helm  ; 

And  on  our  ship  with  good  will  Fortune  sat, 

Giver  of  safety,  so  that  nor  in  haven 

Felt  we  the  breakers,  nor  on  rough  rock-beach 

Ran  we  aground.     But  when  we  had  escaped  *"' 

The  hell  of  waters,  then  in  clear,  bright  day, 

Not  trusting  in  our  fortune,  we  in  thought 

O'er  new  ills  brooded  of  our  host  destroyed. 

And  eke  most  roughly  handled.     And  if  still 

Breathe  any  of  them  they  report  of  us 

As  having  perished.     How  else  should  they  speak  .? 

And  we  in  our  turn  deem  that  they  are  so. 

God  send  good  ending  !     Look  you,  first  and  chief, 

For  Menelaos'  coming  ;  and  indeed, 

If  any  sunbeam  know  of  him  alive 

And  well,  by  help  of  Zeus  who  has  not  willed  **' 

As  yet  to  blot  out  all  the  regal  race, 

Some  hope  there  is  that  he'll  come  back  again. 

Know,  hearing  this,  that  thou  the  truth  hast  heard. 

[Exit  HerM 
Strophe  I 

Chor.  Who  was  it  named  her  with  such  wondrous 
truth } 
(Could  it  be  One  unseen, 
In  strange  prevision  of  her  destined  work, 

Guiding  the  tongue  through  chance  ?) 
Who  gave  that  war-wed,  strife-upstirring  one 
The  name  of  Helen,  ominous  of  ill  ?^  "" 

1  It  need  hardly  be  said  that  it  is  as  difficult  to  render  &  paro- 
nonijsia  of  this  kind  as  it  is  to  reproduce  those,  more  or  less 
4» 


AGAMEMNON 

For  all  too  plainly  she 

Hath  been  to  men,  and  ships, 

And  towers,  as  doom  of  Hell. 
From  bower  of  gorgeous  curtains  forth  she  sailed 
With  breeze  of  Zephyr  Titan-born  and  strong  ;' 

And  hosts  of  many  men. 

Hunters  that  bore  the  shield, 
Went  on  the  track  of  those  who  steered  their  boat 
Unseen  to  leafy  banks  of  Simois, 

On  her  account  who  came, 
Dire  cause  of  strife  with  bloodshed  in  her  train.        **" 

Antistrophk  I 
And  so  the  wrath  which  works  its  vengeance  out 

Dear  bride  to  Ilion  brought, 
(Ah,  all  too  truly  named  !)  exacting  still* 

After  long  lapse  of  time 
The  penalty  of  foul  dishonour  done 
To  friendship's  board  and  Zeus,  of  host  and  guest 

The  God,  from  those  who  paid 

Their  loud-voiced  honour  then 

Unto  that  bridal  strain, 
That  hymeneal  chorus  which  to  chant 

analogous,  which  we  find  in  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament 
(comp.  especially  Micah  i. );  but  it  seems  better  to  substitue 
something  which  approaches,  however  imperfectly,  to  an 
equivalent  than  to  obscure  the  reference  to  the  nomen  et  omen 
by  abandoning  the  attempt  to  translate  it.  "  Hell  of  men,  and 
hell  of  ships,  an  1  hell  of  towers,"  has  been  the  rende;ing  adopted 
by  many  previous  translators.  The  Greek  fondness  for  this 
play  on  names  is  seen  in  Sophocles,  Aiat,  v.  401. 

1  Zephyros,  Boreas,  and  the  other  great  winds  were  repre- 
sented in  the  Theogony  of  Hesiod  (v.  134)  as  the  offsprinsr  of 
Astrreos  and  Eos,  and  Astraeos  was  a  Titan.  The  west  wind 
was,  of  course,  favourable  to  Paris  as  he  went  win  Helen  from 
Greece  to  Troia. 

*  Here  a^ain  the  translator  has  to  meet  the  difSooIty  of  «  pun. 
As  an  alternative  we  might  take — 

"To  Ilion  brought,  well-named, 
A  marriage  marring  all." 
42 


AGAMEMNON 

Fell  to  the  lot  of  all  the  bridegroom'i  kin.* 

But  learning  other  song, 

Priam's  ancient  city  now  ** 

Bewaileth  sore,  and  calls  on  Paris'  name, 
Wedded  in  fatal  wedlock  ;  all  the  time 

•Enduring  tear-fraught  life 
•For  all  the  blood  its  citizens  had  lost. 
Strophe  II 

So  once  a  lion's  cub, 

A  mischief  in  his  house, 

As  foster  child  one  reared,* 

While  still  it  loved  the  teats  ; 

In  life's  preluding  dawn 

Tame,  by  the  children  loved,  *•• 

And  fondled  by  the  old,' 

Oft  in  his  arms  'twas  held, 

Like  infant  newly  born, 
With  eyes  that  brightened  to  the  hand  that  stroked. 
And  fawning  at  the  hest  of  hunger  keen. 

Antistrophk  II 
But  when  full-grown,  it  showed 
The  nature  of  its  sires  ; 
For  it  unbidden  made 

*  The  sons  of  Priam  are  thought  of  as  taking  part  in  the 
celebration  of  Helen's  marriage  with  Paris,  and  as,  therefore, 
involving  themselves  in  the  guilt  and  the  penalty  of  his  crime. 

'  Fire,  too,  it  may  be  well  to  give  an  alternative  rendering  — 
"  A  mischief  in  his  house, 
A  man  reared,  not  on  milk." 
Home-reared  lions  seem  to  have  been  common  as  pets,  both 
among  Greeks  and  Latins  (Arist.,  Hist.  Anim.  ix.  31  ;  Plutarch, 
lU  Cokib.  irA,  §  14,  p.  812),  sometimes,  as  in  Martial's  Epi- 
gram, ii.  25,  with  fatal  consequences.  The  text  shows  the 
practice  to  have  been  common  enough  in  the  time  of  Pericles  to 
supply  a  similitude. 

'  There  may,  possibly,  be  a  half  allusion  here  to  the  passage 
in  the  Iliad  {\y.  154-160),  which  describes  the  fascination  which 
the  beauty  of  Helen  exercised  on  the  Troian  elders. 
43 


AGAMEMNON 

A  feast  in  recompense 

Of  all  their  fostering  care, 

*By  banquet  of  slain  sheep  ;  '^^ 

With  blood  the  house  was  stained, 

A  curse  no  slaves  could  check, 

Great  mischief  murderous  : 
By  God's  decree  a  priest  of  At^  thus 
Was  reared,  and  grew  within  the  man's  own  house. 

Strophe  III 
So  I  would  tell  that  thus  to  Ilion  came 
Mood  as  of  calm  when  all  the  air  is  still, 
The  gentle  pride  and  joy  of  kingly  state, 

A  tender  glance  of  eye. 
The  full-blown  blossom  of  a  passionate  love, 

Thrilling  the  very  soul  ;  "" 

And  yet  she  turned  aside, 
And  wrought  a  bitter  end  of  marriage  feast, 

Coming  to  Priam's  race, 

111  sojourner,  ill  friend, 
Sent  by  great  Zeus,  the  God  of  host  and  guest — 
Erinnys,  for  whom  wives  weep  many  tears. 

Antistrophe  III 
There  lives  an  old  saw,  framed  in  ancient  days,' 
In  memories  of  men,  that  high  estate 

1  The  poet  becomes  a  prcphet,  and  asserts  wliat  it  has  been 
given  him  to  know  of  the  righteous  government  of  God.  The 
dominant  creed  of  Greece  at  the  time  was,  theit  the  Gods  were 
envious  of  man's  prosperity,  that  this  alone,  apart  from  moral 
evil,  was  enough  to  draw  down  their  wrath,  and  bring  a  curse 
upon  the  prosperous  house.  So,  e.g.,  Amasis  tells  Polycrates 
(Herod,  iii.  40)  that  the  unseen  Divmity  that  rules  the  world  is 
envious,  that  power  and  glory  are  inevitabl<  the  precursors  of 
destruction.  Comp.  also  the  speech  of  Artabanos  (Herod,  vii. 
10,  46).  Against  this,  in  tlie  tone  of  one  who  S)^eaks  single- 
handed  for  the  truth,  jEschylos,  through  the  Chorus,  enters  his 
protest. 

44 


AGAMEMNON 

Full-grown  brings  forth  its  young,  nor  childless  dies. 

But  that  from  good  success 
Springs  to  the  race  a  woe  insatiable.  "* 

But  I,  apart  from  all, 

Hold  this  my  creed  alone  : 
For  impious  act  it  is  that  offspring  breeds, 

Like  to  their  parent  stock  : 

For  still  in  every  house 
That  loves  the  right  their  fate  for  evermore 
Rejoiceth  in  an  issue  fair  and  good. 

Strophe  IV 

But  Recklessness  of  old 
Is  wont  to  breed  another  Recklessness, 

Sporting  its  youth  in  human  miseries. 
Or  now,  or  then,  whene'er  the  fixed  hour  comes  :   '*■ 

That  in  its  youth,  in  turn, 

Doth  full-flushed  Lust  beget, 
And  that  dread  demon-power  unconquerable. 

Daring  that  fears  not  God, — 
Two  curses  black  within  the  homes  of  men. 

Like  those  that  gendered  them. 

Antistrophe  IV 

But  Justice  shineth  bright 
In  dwellings  that  are  dark  and  dim  with  smoke. 

And  honours  life  law-ruled, 
While  gold-decked  homes  conjoined  with  hands  de- 
filed '« 

She  with  averted  eyes 

Hath  left,  and  draweth  near 
To  l\plier  things,  nor  worships  might  of  wealth, 

If  counterfeit  its  praise  ; 
But  still  directeth  all  the  course  of  things 

Towards  its  destined  goal. 
45 


AGAMEMNON 

[Agamemnon  //    seen  approaching   in  kis 
chariot,  followed  by   another   chariot,  in 
zvhich  Cassandra  is  standing,  carrying 
her  prophet's   wand  in   her   hand,    and 
wearing  fillets  round  her  temples,  and  by 
a  great  train  of  soldiers  bearing  trophies. 
As  they  come  on  the  stage  the    Chorus 
sings  its  welcome 
Come  then,  king,  thou  son  of  Atreus, 
Waster  of  the  towers  of  Troia, 
What  of  greeting  and  of  homage 
Shall  I  give,  nor  overshooting, 
Nor  due  need  of  honour  missing  ? 
Men  there  are  who,  right  transgressing, 
Honour  semblance  more  than  being.  "" 

O'er  the  sufferer  all  are  ready 
Wail  of  bitter  grief  to  utter. 
Though  the  biting  pang  of  sorrow 
Never  to  their  heart  approaches  ; 
So  with  counterfeit  rejoicing 
Men  strain  faces  that  are  smileless  ; 
But  when  one  his  own  sheep  knoweth, 
Then  men's  eyes  cannot  deceive  him, 
When  thev  deem  with  kindly  purpose,         *™ 
And  with  fondness  weak  to  flatter. 
Thou,  when  thou  did'st  lead  thine  army 
For  Helen's  sake — (I  will  not  hide  it) — 
Wast  to  me  as  one  whose  features 
Have  been  limned  by  unskilled  artist. 
Guiding  ill  the  helm  of  reason. 
Giving  men  to  death's  doom  sentenced 
*Courage  which  their  will  rejected.^ 
*  Sc,  Agamemnon,  by  the  sacrifice  of  Iphigeneia,  had  induced 
his  troops  to  persevere  in  an  expedition  from  which,  in  their 
inmost  hearts,  they  shrank  back  with  strong  dislike.     A  con- 
jectural reading  gives, 

46 


AGAMEMNON 

Now  nor  from  the  spirit's  surface. 

Nor  with  touch  of  thought  unfriendly, 

All  the  toil,  I  say,  is  welcome, 

If  men  bring  it  to  good  issue. 

And  thou  soon  shalt  know,  enquiring,  '*' 

Him  who  rightly,  him  who  wrongly 

Of  thy  citizens  fulfilleth 

Task  of  office  for  the  city.^ 
Agam.  First  Argos,  and  the  Gods  who  guard  the  land, 
'Tis  right  to  greet  ;  to  them  in  part  I  owe 
This  my  return,  and  vengeance  that  I  took 
On  Priam's  city.     Not  on  hearsay  proof 
Judging  the  cause,  with  one  consent  the  Gods 
Cast  in  their  votes  into  the  urn  of  blood 
For  Ilion's  ruin  and  her  people's  death  ; 
*r  the  other  urn  Hope  touched  the  rim  alone,  '*' 

Still  far  from  being  filled  full.'     And  even  yet 
The  captured  city  by  its  ^moke  is  seen, 
•The  incense  clouds  of  Ate  live  on  still  ; 
And,  in  the  act  of  dying  with  its  prey, 
From  richest  store  the  dust  sends  savours  sweet. 
For  these  things  it  is  meet  to  give  the  Gods 
Thank-offerings  long-enduring  ;  for  our  nets 
Of  vengeance  we  set  close,  and  for  a  woman 
Our  Argive  monster  laid  the  city  low,' 

"  By  the  sacrifice  he  offered 
Giving  death-doomed  men  false  boldness." 
1  The  tone  of  ambiguous  irony  mingles,  it  will  be  seen,  even 
here,  wi'  h  the  praises  of  the  Chorus. 

'  Possibly  an  allusion  to  Pandora's  box.  Here,  too,  Hope 
alone  was  left,  but  it  only  came  up  to  where  the  curve  of  the 
rim  began,  not  to  its  top.  The  imagery  is  drawn  from  the 
older  method  of  voting,  in  which  (as  in  Eumenides,  v.  678)  the 
votes  for  condemnation  and  acquittal  were  cast  into  separate 
urns. 

'  The  lion,  as  the  symbol  of  the  house  of  Atreus,  still  seen  in 
the  sculptures  of  M>kena2  ;  the  horse,  in  allusion  tothestiatagem 
by  which  Troia  bad  been  taken. 
47 


AGAMEMNON 

Foaled  by  the  mare,  a  people  bearing  shield, 

Taking  its  leap  when  set  the  Pleiades  ; ' 

And,  bounding  o'er  the  tower,  that  ravenous  lion    *^ 

Lapped  up  its  fill  of  blood  of  kingly  race. 

This  prelude  to  the  Gods  I  lengthen  out  ; 

And  as  concerns  thy  feeling  (this  I  well 

Remember  hearing)  I  with  thee  agree, 

And  thou  in  me  may'st  find  an  advocate. 

With  but  few  men  is  it  their  natural  bent 

To  honour  without  grudging  prosperous  friend  : 

For  ill-souled  envy  that  the  heart  besets, 

Doubles  his  woe  who  suffers  that  disease  : 

He  by  his  own  griefs  first  is  overwhelmed. 

And  groans  at  sight  of  others'  happier  lot.  *" 

*And  I  with  good  cause  say,  (for  well  I  know,) 

They  are  but  friendship's  mirror,  phantom  shade, 

Who  seemed  to  be  my  most  devoted  friends, 

Odysseus  only,  who  against  his  will  * 

Sailed  with  us,  still  was  found  true  trace-fellow  : 

And  this  I  say  of  him  or  dead  or  living. 

But  as  for  all  that  touches  on  the  State, 

Or  on  the  Gods,  in  full  assembly  we. 

Calling  our  council,  will  deliberate  :  *" 

For  what  goes  well  we  should  with  care  provide 

How  longest  it  may  last  ;  and  where  there  needs 

A  healing  charm,  there  we  with  all  good-will. 

By  surgery  or  cautery  will  try 

To  turn  away  the  mischief  of  disease. 

And  now  will  I  to  home  and  household  hearth 

Move  on,  and  first  give  thanks  unto  the  Gods 

1  At  the  end  of  autumn,  and  therefore  at  a  season  when  a 
storm  like  that  described  by  the  herald  would  be  a  probable 
incident  enough. 

2  So  in  Sophocles,  Philoctetes  (v.  1025)  taunts  Odysseus : — 

"  And  yet  thou  sailedst  with  them  by  constraint, 
By  tricks  fast  bound." 
♦8 


AGAMEMNON 

Who  led  me  forth,  and  brought  mc  back  again. 
Since  Victory  follows,  long  may  she  remain  ! 

Enter  Clyt-«mnestra,  followed  by  female  attendants 
carrying  purple  tapestry 

Clytam.  Ye  citizens,  ye  Argive  senators, 
I  will  not  shrink  from  telling  you  the  tale 
Of  wife's  true  love.     As  time  wears  on  one  drops    '*' 
All  over-shyness.     Not  learning  it  from  others, 
I  will  narrate  my  own  unhappy  life, 
The  whole  long  time  my  lord  at  Ilion  stayed. 
For  first,  that  wife  should  sit  at  home  alone 
Without  her  husband  is  a  monstrous  grief. 
Hearing  full  many  an  ill  report  of  him, 
Now  one  and  now  another  coming  still. 
Bringing  news  home,  worse  trouble  upon  bad. 
Yea,  if  my  lord  had  met  as  many  wounds 
As  rumour  told  of,  floating  to  our  house,  •" 

He  had  been  riddled  more  than  any  net  ; 
And  had  he  died,  as  tidings  still  poured  in. 
Then  he,  a  second  Geryon  ^  with  three  lives, 
Had  boasted  of  a  threefold  coverlet 
Of  earth  above,  (I  will  not  say  below  him,)* 
Dying  one  death  for  each  of  those  his  forms  ; 
And  so,  because  of  all  these  ill  reports. 
Full  many  a  noose  around  my  neck  have  others 

*  Geryon  appears  in  the  myth  of  Hercules  as  a  monster  with 
three  heads  and  three  bodies,  ruling  over  the  island  Erytheia, 
in  the  far  West,  beyond  Hesperia.  To  destroy  him  and  seize 
his  cattle  was  one  of  the  "twelve  labours,"  with  which  Hesiod 
( Theogon.  vv.  287-294)  had  already  made  men  familiar. 

'  When  a  man  is  buried,  there  is  earth  above  and  earth  below 
him.  Clytaemnestra  having  used  the  words  "coverlet,"  pauses  to 
make  her  language  accurate  to  the  very  letter.  She  is  speaking 
only  of  the  earth  which  would  have  been  laid  over  her  husband's 
eorpse,  had  he  died  as  often  as  he  was  reported  to  have  done. 
She  will  not  utter  anything  so  ominous  as  an  aUusion  to  the 
depths  below  him  stretching  down  to  Hades. 

n  49  9 


AGAMEMNON 

Loosed  by  main  force,  when  I  had  hung  myself. 

And  for  this  cause  no  son  is  with  me  now,  "* 

Holding  in  trust  the  pledges  of  our  love,' 

As  he  should  be,  Orestes.     Wonder  not  ; 

For  now  a  kind  ally  doth  nurture  him, 

Strophios  the  Phokian,  telling  me  of  woes 

Of  twofold  aspect,  danger  on  thy  side 

At  Ilion,  and  lest  loud-voiced  anarchy 

Should  overthrow  thy  council,  since  'tis  still 

The  wont  of  men  to  kick  at  those  who  fall. 

No  trace  of  guile  bears  this  excuse  of  mine  ; 

As  for  myself,  the  fountains  of  my  tears 

Have  flowed  till  they  are  dry,  no  drop  remains,        •*" 

And  mine  eyes  suffer  from  o'er-late  repose, 

Watching  with  tears  the  beacons  set  for  thee,^ 

Left  still  unheeded.     And  in  dreams  full  oft 

I  from  my  sleep  was  startled  by  the  gnat 

With  thin  wings  buzzing,  seeing  in  the  night 

Ills  that  stretched  far  beyond  the  time  of  sleep.* 

Now,  having  borne  all  this,  with  mind  at  ease, 

I  hail  my  lord  as  watch-dog  of  the  fold. 

The  stay  that  saves  the  ship,  of  lofty  roof  *™ 

Main  column-prop,  a  father's  only  child. 

Land  that  beyond  all  hope  the  sailor  sees. 

Morn  of  great  brightness  following  after  storm. 

Clear-flowing  fount  to  thirsty  traveller.* 

1  Or— 

"  Weeping  because  the  torches  in  thy  house 
No  more  were  lighted  as  they  were  of  yore." 

•  The  words  touch  upon  the  psychological  fact  that  in  dreams, 
as  in  other  abnormal  states  of  the  mind,  the  usual  measures  of 
time  disappear,  and  we  seem  to  pass  through  the  experiences  of 
many  years  in  the  slumber  of  a  few  minutes. 

'  The  rhetoric  of  the  passage,  with  all  its  muhiplied  simili- 
tudes, fine  as  it  is  in  itself,  receives  its  dramatic  significance  by 
being  put  into  the  lips  of  Clytsemnestra.  She  "doth  protest 
too  much."  A  true  wife  would  have  been  content  with  fewer 
word*. 

SO 


AGAMEMNON 

Yes,  it  is  pleasant  to  escape  all  straits  : 

With  words  of  welcome  such  as  these  I  greet  thee  ; 

May  jealous  Heaven  forgive  them  !   for  we  bore 

Full  many  an  evil  in  the  past  ;  and  now, 

Dear  husband,  leave  thy  car,  nor  on  the  ground, 

0  King,  set  thou  the  foot  that  Ilion  trampled.  *•" 
Why  linger  ye,  [(urn  ng  to  her  attendants,'\  ye  maids, 

whose  task  it  was 
To  strew  the  pathway  with  your  tapestries  ? 
Let  the  whole  road  be  straightway  purple-strown, 
That  Justice  lead  to  home  he  looked  not  for. 
All  else  my  care,  by  slumber  not  subdued. 
Will  with  God's  help  work  out  what  fate  decrees.' 

(J^he  handmaids  advance,  and  are  about  to  lay  the 
purple  carpets  on  the  ground) 

Agam.   O  child  of  Leda,  guardian  of  my  home. 
Thy  speech  hath  with  my  absence  well  agreed — 
For  long  indeed  thou  mad'st  it — but  fit  praise 
Is  boon  that  I  must  seek  at  other  hands.  **" 

1  pray  thee,  do  not  in  thy  woman's  fashion 
Pamper  my  pride,  nor  in  barbaric  guise 
Prostrate  on  earth  raise  full-mouthed  cries  to  me  ; 
Make  not  my  path  offensive  to  the  Gods 

By  spreading  it  with  carpets.*     They  alone 

1  The  last  three  h'nes  of  the  speech  are  of  coune  intentionally 
ambiguous,  carrying  one  meaning  to  the  ear  of  Agamemnon, 
and  another  to  that  of  the  audience. 

2  There  is  obviously  a  side-thrust,  such  as  an  Athenian 
audience  would  catch  at,  at  the  token  of  homage  which  the 
Persian  kings  required  of  their  subjects,  the  prostration  at  their 
feet,  the  earth  spread  over  wiih  cosily  robes.  Of  the  latter 
custom  we  have  examples  in  the  history  of  Jehu  (2  Kings  ix.  13), 
in  our  Lord's  entry  into  Jerusalem  (Mark  xi.  8),  in  the  usages 
of  modern  Persian  kings  (Malcolm's  Persia,  i.  580);  perhaps 
also  in  the  true  rendering  of  Ps.  xlv.  14,  "She  shall  be  brought 
unto  the  king  on  raiment  of  needle- work."  In  the  march  of 
Xerxes  across  the  Hellespont  myrtle- boughs  strown  on  the 
bridge  of  boats  took  the  place  of  robes  (Herod,  vii.  54).    To 

5» 


AGAMEMNON 

May  claim  that  honour  ;  but  for  mortal  men 
To  walk  on  fair  embroidery,  to  me 
Seems  nowise  without  peril.     So  I  bid  yon 
To  honour  me  as  man,  and  not  as  God. 
Apart  from  all  foot-mats  and  tapestry 
My  fame  speaks  loudly  ;  and  God's  greatest  gift        *" 
Is  not  to  err  from  wisdom.     We  must  bless 
Him  only  who  ends  life  in  fair  estate.^ 
Should  I  thus  act  throughout,  good  hope  were  mine. 
Clyttem.  Nay,  say  not  this  my  purposes  to  thwart. 
Agam.  Know  I  change  not  for  the  worse  my  pur- 
pose. 
Clyttem.  In  fear,  perchance,  thou  vowed'st  thus  to 

act. 
Agam.  If  any,  I,  with  good  ground  spoke  my  will.* 
Clytttm.  What  think'st  thou  Priam,  had  he  wrought 

such  deeds  .  .  .  ? 

Agam.  Full  gladly  he,  I  trow,  had  trod  on  carpets. 

Clytam.   Then  shrink  not   thou  through  fear   of 

men's  dispraise.  "" 

Agam.  And   yet    a    people's    whisper   hath    great 

might.* 
Cl'^tam.  Who  is  not  envied  is  not  enviable. 

the  Greek  character,  with  its  strong  love  of  independence,  such 
customs  were  hateful.  The  case  of  Pausanias,  who  offend-d 
the  national  feeling  by  assuming  the  outward  state  of  the 
Persian  kings,  must  have  been  recalled  to  the  minds  of  the 
Athenians,  mtentionally  or  otherwise,  by  such  a  passage  as 
this. 

1  The  "old  saying,  famed  of  many  men,"  which  we  find  in 
the  Trachinice  of  Sophocles  (v.  i),  and  in  the  counsel  of  Solon 
to  Croesos  (Herod,  i.  32). 

*  He  who  had  suffered  so  much  from  the  wrath  of  Artemis  at 
Aulis  knew  what  it  was  to  rouse  the  wrath  and  jcalousv  of  the 
Gods. 

•  An  echo  of  a  line  in  Hesiod  (  Worki  and  Days,  763) — 

"  No  whispered  rumours  which  the  many  spread 
Can  ever  wholly  perish." 


AGAMEMNON 

Agam.  'Tis  not  a  woman*s  part  to  crave  for  strife. 

Clyttem.  True,    yet    the    prosperous    e'en    should 
sometimes  yield. 

Agam.  Dost  thou   then  prize  that  victory  in  the 
strife  ? 

Cljtam.  Nay,  list  ;  with  all  good-will  yield  me  this 
boon. 

Agam.  Well,  then,   if  thou  wilt  have  it  so,  with 
speed 
Let  some  one  loose  my  buskins^  (servants  they 
Doing  the  foot's  true  work),  and  as  I  tread 
Upon  these  robes  sea-purpled,  may  no  wrath 
From  glance  of  Gods  smite  on  me  from  afar  !  •* 

Great  shame  I  feel  to  trample  with  my  foot 
This  wealth  of  carpets,  costliest  work  of  looms  ; 
So  far  for  this.     This  stranger  \_pointing  to  Cassandra] 

lead  thou  in 
With  kindliness.     On  him  who  gently  wields 
His  power  God's  eye  looks  kindly  from  afar. 
None  of  their  own  will  choose  a  bondslave's  life ; 
And  she,  the  chosen  flower  of  many  spoils, 
Has  followed  with  me  as  the  army's  gift. 
But  since  I  turn,  obeying  thee  in  this, 
I'll  to  my  palace  go,  on  purple  treading.  •* 

Clytam.  There  is  a  sea, — and  who  shall  drain  it  dry  ? 
Producing  still  new  store  of  purple  juice, 
Precious  as  silver,  staining  many  a  robe. 

1  Here,  too,  we  may  trace  a  reference  to  the  Oriental  custom 
of  recognising  the  sanciity  of  a  consecrated  place  by  taking  the 
shoes  from  off  the  feet,  as  in  Exod.  iii.  5,  in  the  services  of  the 
Tabernacle  and  Temple,  through  all  their  history  (Juven., 
Sat.  vi.  159),  in  all  mosques  to  the  present  day.  Agamemnon, 
yielding  to  the  temptress,  seeks  to  make  a  compromise  with  his 
conscience.  He  will  walk  upon  the  tapestry,  but  will  treat  it  as 
if  it,  of  right,  belonged  to  the  Gods,  and  were  a  consecrated 
thing.  It  is  probably  in  conntction  with  thts  incident  tha» 
.^Eschylos  was  said  to  have  been  the  first  to  bring  actors  on  the 
stage  in  these  boots  or  buskins  (Suidas.  s.  v.  ap/SvAi|). 
53 


AGAMEMNON 

And  in  our  house,  with  God's  help,  O  my  king, 

'Tis  ours  to  boast  our  palace  knows  no  stint. 

Trampling  of  many  robes  would  I  have  vowed, 

Had  that  been  ordered  me  in  oracles, 

When  for  my  lord's  return  I  then  did  plan 

My  votive  gifts.     For  while  the  root  lives  on, 

The  foliage  stretches  even  to  the  house, 

And  spreads  its  shade  against  the  dog-star's  rage  ;      "'"' 

So  when  thou  comest  to  thy  hearth  and  home, 

Thou  show'st  that  warmth  hath  come  in  winter  time  ; 

And  when  from  unripe  clusters  Zeus  matures 

The  wine,^  then  is  there  coolness  in  the  house. 

If  the  true  master  dwelleth  in  his  home. 

Ah,  Zeus  !   the  All-worker,  Zeus,  work  out  for  me 

All  that  I  pray  for  ;  let  it  be  thy  care 

To  look  to  what  Thou  purposest  to  work.* 

\_Exeunt  Agamemnon,  walking  on  the  ^<7^- 
#j/ry,CLYT^MNESTRA,  and  her  attendants 

Strophe  I 

Chor.  Why  thus  continually 
Do  haunting  phantoms  hover  at  the  gate 

Of  my  foreboding  heart  ?  *" 

Why  floats  prophetic  song,  unbought,  unbidden  ? 
Why  doth  no  steadfast  trust 
Sit  on  my  mind's  dear  throne, 
To  fling  it  from  me  as  a  vision  dim  ? 
Long  time  hath  passed  since  stern-ropes  of  our  ships 
Were  fastened  on  the  sand,  when  our  great  host 
Of  those  that  sailed  in  ships 
Had  come  to  Ilion's  towers  :  * 

1  The  words  of  Isaiah  (xviii.   5),   "when  the  sour  grape  is 
ripening  in  the  flower,"  present  an  almost  verbal  parallel. 

*  The  ever-recurring  ambiguity  of  Clytaemnestra's  language 
is  again  traceable,  as  is  aho  her  fondness  for  rhetorical  similitudes. 

*  The  Chorus  speaks  in  perplexity.     In  cannot  get  rid  of  its 

54 


AGAMEMNON 

Antistrophe  I 

And  now  from  these  mine  eyes  '*' 

I  learn,  myself  reporting  to  myself, 

Their  safe  return  ;  and  yet 

My  mind  within  itself,  taught  by  itself, 

Chanteth  Erinnys'  dirge. 

The  lyreless  melody, 

And  hath  no  strength  of  wonted  confidence. 

Not  vain  these  inner  pulses,  as  my  heart 

Whirls  eddying  in  breast  oracular. 

I,  against  hope,  will  pray 

It  prove  false  oracle.  •" 

Strophe  II 

Of  high,  o'erflowing  health 

There  is  no  bound  that  stays  the  wish  for  more, 

For  evermore  disease,  as  neighbour  close 

Whom  but  a  wall  divides, 

Upon  it  presses  ;  and  man's  prosperous  state 

*Moves  on  its  course,  and  strikes 

Upon  an  unseen  rock  ; 

But  if  his  fear  for  safety  of  his  freight, 

A  part,  from  well-poised  sling,  shall  sacrifice,  "•• 

Then  the  whole  house  sinks  not, 

O'erfilled  with  wretchedness. 

Nor  does  he  swamp  his  boat  : 

So,  too,  abundant  gift 

From  Zeus  in  bounteous  fulness,  and  the  fruit 

Of  glebe  at  harvest  tide 

Have  caused  to  cease  sore  hunger's  pestilence  ; 

Antistrophe  II 

But  blood  that  once  hath  flowed 

In  purple  stains  of  death  upon  the  ground 

forebodings,  and  yet  it  would  seem  as  if  the  time  for  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  dark  woids  of  Calchas  must  have  parsed  long  smce. 
It  actually  sees  the  sale  return  ot  the  leader  of  the  host,  )et  still 
its  i^ars  haimt  it. 

55 


AGAMEMNON 

At  a  man's  feet,  who  then  can  bid  it  back 

By  any  charm  of  song  ? 
Else  him  who  knew  to  call  the  dead  to  life* 

*Zeus  had  not  sternly  checked,  •®*' 

*As  warning  unto  all  ; 
But  unless  Fate,  firm-fixed,  had  barred  our  fate 
From  any  chance  of  succour  from  the  Gods, 

Then  had  my  heart  poured  forth 

Its  thoughts,  outstripping  speech.* 

But  now  in  gloom  it  wails 

Sore  vexed,  with  little  hope 
At  any  time  hereafter  fitting  end  **"' 

To  find,  unravelling, 
My  soul  within  me  burning  with  hot  thoughts. 

Re-enter  Clyt^mnestra 
Clytam.  \to   Cassandra,   who   has  remained  in  the 
chariot  during  the  choral  ode] 
Thou  too — I  mean  Cassandra — go  within  ; 
Since  Zeus  hath  made  it  thine,  and  not  in  wrath, 
To  share  the  lustral  waters  in  our  house. 
Standing  with  many  a  slave  the  altar  nigh 
Of  Zeus,  who  guards  our  goods.'     Now  get  thee  down 
From  out  this  car,  nor  look  so  over  proud. 
They  say  that  e'en  Alcmena's  son  endured  * 

1  Asclepios,  whom  Zeus  smote  with  his  thunderbolt  for  having 
restored  Hippolytos  to  life. 

8  The  Chorus,  in  spite  of  their  suspicions  and  forebodings, 
have  given  the  king  no  warning.  They  excuse  themselves  by 
the  plea  of  necessity,  the  sovereign  decree  of  Zeus  overruling  all 
man's  attempts  to  withstand  it. 

3  Cassandra  is  summoned  to  an  act  of  worship.  The  house- 
hold is  gathered,  the  altar  to  Zeus  Ktesios  (the  God  of  the  family 
property,  slaves  included),  standing  in  the  servants'  hall,  is 
ready.  The  new  slave  must  come  in  and  take  her  place  with 
the  others. 

*  As  in  the  story  which  forms  the  groundwork  of  the  Tra- 
cAinics  cf  Sophocles,  vv.  250-380,  that  Heracles  had  been  sold 
(Q  Omphale  as  a  slave,  in  penalty  for  the  murder  of  Iphifos, 

56 


AGAMEMNON 

Being  sold  a  slave,  constrained  to  bear  the  yoke  : 
And  if  the  doom  of  this  ill  chance  should  come, 
Great  boon  it  is  to  meet  with  lords  who  own 
Ancestral  wealth.     But  whoso  reap  full  crops  ^'"'' 

They  never  dared  to  hope  for,  these  in  all, 
And  beyond  measure,  to  their  slaves  are  harsh  :  * 
From  us  thou  hast  what  usage  doth  prescribe. 

Chor.  So  ends  she,  speaking  words  full  clear  to  thee  : 
And  seeing  thou  art  in  the  toils  of  fate, 
If  thou  obey,  thou  wilt  obey  ;  and  yet, 
Perchance,  obey  thou  wilt  not. 

Clytiem.  Nay,  but  unless  she,  like  a  swallow,  speaks 
A  barbarous  tongue  unknown,  I  speaking  now 
Within  her  apprehension,  bid  obey.  "**' 

Chor.  [to    Cassandra,  still  standing  motion /ess"]  Go 
with  her.     What  she  bids  is  now  the  best ; 
Obey  her  :  leave  thy  seat  upon  this  car. 

Clyt^m.  I  have  no  leisure  here  to  stay  without  : 
For  as  regards  our  central  altar,  there 
The  sheep  stand  by  as  victims  for  the  fire  ; 
For  never  had  we  hoped  such  thanks  to  give  : 
If  thou  wilt  do  this,  make  no  more  delay  ; 
But  if  thou  understandest  not  my  words, 
Then  wave  thy  foreign  hand  in  lieu  of  speech. 

[Cassandra  shudders  as  in  horror ^  but 
makes  no  sign 

Chor.  The  stranger  seems  a  clear  interpreter 
To  need.     Her  look  is  like  a  captured  deer's.  ^"^ 

Clyttfm.     Nay,    she    is    mad,    and    follows    evil 
thoughts, 

1  Political  as  well  as  dramatic.  The  Eupatrid  poet  appeals 
to  public  opinion  against  the  nouveaux  riches,  the  tanners  and 
lamp- makers,  who  were  already  beginning  to  push  themselves 
forward  towards  prominence  and  power.  The  way  was  thus 
prepared  in  the  first  p'ay  of  the  Trilogy  for  what  is  known  to 
jjave  been  the  main  object  of  the  last.    Ccnip.  Arist.,  Rhct.  li.  yi, 

57 


AGAMEMNON 

Since,  leaving  now  her  city,  newly-captured. 

She  comes,  and  knows  not  how  to  take  the  curb. 

Ere  she  foam  out  her  passion  in  her  blood. 

I  will  not  bear  the  shame  of  uttering  more.  [^Exit 

Chor.  And  I — I  pity  her,  and  will  not  rage  : 
Come,  thou  poor  sufferer,  empty  leave  thy  car  ; 
Yield  to  thy  doom,  and  handsel  now  the  yoke. 

[Cassandra  leaves  the  chariot,  and  bursts 
into  a  cry  of  wailing 

Strophe  I 
Cass.         Woe  !  woe,  and  well-a-day  ! 

Apollo  !  O  Apollo  !  »<>«» 

Chor.  Why  criest  thou  so  loud  on  Loxias  \ 
The  wailing  cry  of  mourner  suits  not  him. 

Antistrophe  I 
Cass.         Woe  !  woe,  and  well-a-day  ! 

Apollo  !  O  Apollo  ! 
Chor.  Again  with  boding  words  she  calls  the  God, 
Though  all  unmeet  as  helper  to  men's  groans. 

Strophe  II 
.  Cass.  Apollo  !  O  Apollo  ! 

God  of  all  paths,  Apollo  true  to  me  ; 
For  still  thou  dost  appal  me  and  destroy.* 

Chor.  She  seems  her  own  ills  like  to  prophesy  :  *"*' 
The  God's  great  gift  is  in  the  slave's  mind  yet. 

1  Here  again  the  translator  has  the  task  of  finding  an  English 
paronomasia  which  approximates  to  that  of  the  Greek,  between 
Apo'lo  and  on-oAA«K  the  destroyer.  To  Ap)olIo,  as  the  God  of 
paths  (Aguieus),  an  ahar  stood,  column-fashion,  before  the 
street-door  of  every  house,  and  to  such  an  altar,  placed  by  the 
door  of  Agamemnon's  palace,  Cassandra  turns,  with  the  two- 
fold play  upon  the  name. 


58 


AGAMEMNON 

Antistrophe  II 

Casj.  Apollo  !   O  Apollo  ! 

God  of  all  paths,  Apollo  true  to  me  ; 
What  path  hast  led  me  ?     To  what  roof  hast  brought  ? 

C/>0r.  To  that  of  the  Atreidae.     This  I  tell, 
If  thou  know'st  not.     Thou  wilt  not  find  it  false. 

Strophe  III 
Cajs.  Ah  !  Ah  !  Ah  me  ! 

Say  rather  to  a  house  God  hates — that  knows 

Murder,  self-slaughter,  ropes,^ 
•A  human  shamble,  staining  earth  with  blood.         *°*' 
dor.  Keen  scented  seems  this  stranger,  like  a  hound. 
And  sniffs  to  see  whose  murder  she  may  find. 

Antistrophe  III 
Cast.  Ah  !  Ah  !  Ah  me  ! 

Lo  !  [looking  wildly,  and  pointing  to  the  house,']  there 
the  witnesses  whose  word  I  trust, — 
Those  babes  who  wail  their  death 
The  roasted  flesh  that  made  a  father'    meal. 

Cher.  We  of  a  truth  had  he  rd  thy  seeress  fame, 
But  prophets  now  are  no-  the  race  we  seek.' 

Strophe  IV 
Cass.  Ah  me  !     O  horror  !     What  ill  schemes  she 
now  ? 
What  is  this  new  great  woe  ?  *** 

1  This  refers,  probably,  to  tVie  death  of  Hippodameia,  the  wife 
of  Pelops,  who  killed  herself,  in  remorse  for  the  death  of  Chry- 
sippos,  or  fear  of  her  husband's  anger.  The  horrors  of  the 
royal  house  of  Argos  pass,  one  by  one,  before  the  vision  of  the 
prophetess,  and  this  leads  theprocession,  followed  by  the  spectres 
of  the  murdered  children  of  Tnyestes. 

'  The  Chorus,  as  in  their  last  ode,  had  made  up  their  minds, 
though  foreboding  ill,  to  let  destiny  take  its  course.  They  do 
not  wish  that  policy  of  non-inte.  feience  to  be  changed  by  an^  too 
clear  Tisioo  of  the  future. 

S9 


AGAMEMNON 

Great  ctiI  plots  she  in  this  rerj  house. 
Hard  for  its  friends  to  bear,  immedicable  ; 
And  help  stands  far  aloof. 
CSor.  These  oracles  of  thine  surpass  my  ken  ; 
Those  I  know  well.     The   whole  town   rings  with 
them.' 

Antistrophe  IV 

Cass.  Ah  me  !   O  daring  one  !  what  work'st  thou 
here, 
Who  having  in  his  bath 
Tended  thy  spouse,  thy  lord,  then  .  .  .  How  tell  the 

rest  ? 
For  quick  it  comes,  and  hand  is  following  hand. 

Stretched  out  to  strike  the  blow.  '"" 

Chr.  Still  I  discern  not ;  after  words  so  dark 
I  am  perplexed  with  thy  dim  oracles. 

Strophe  V 
Cass.  Ah,  horror,  horror  !     What  is  this  I  see  i 
Is  it  a  snare  of  Hell  i 
Nay,  the  true  net  is  she  who  shares  his  bed, 

Who  shares  in  working  death. 
Ha  !  let  the  Band  insatiable  in  hate* 
Howl  for  the  race  its  wild  exulting  cry 
O'er  sacrifice  that  calls 
For  death  by  storm  of  stones. 

*  The  Chorus  understands  the  vision  of  the  elairvoyantt  as 
regards  the  past  tragedy  of  the  house  of  Atreus,  but  not  that 
which  stems  to  portend  another  actually  imminent. 

3  Fresh  visions  come  txfore  the  eyes  of  the  seeress.  She 
beholds  the  company  of  Erinnyes  hovering  over  the  accursed 
house,  and  calls  on  them  to  continue  their  work  till  the  new 
crime  has  met  with  its  due  puni-hment.  The  murder  which  sLe 
teei  as  if  already  wrought,  demands  death  by  stoning. 


60 


AGAMEMNON 

Strophe  VI 
Ckor.  What   dire    Erinn/s    bidd'st  thou   o'er  our 
house 
To  raiic  shrill  cry  ?     Thy  speech  but  little  cheers  ; 
And  to  my  heart  there  rush 
Blood-drops  of  saffron  hue,^  **** 

•Which,  when  from  deadly  wound 
They  fall,  together  with  life's  setting  rays 
End,  as  it  fails,  their  own  appointed  coune  : 
And  mischief  comes  apace. 

Antistrophk  V 
Casi.  See,  see,  I  say,  from  that  fell  heifer  there 
Keep  thou  the  bull  :  *  in  robes 
Entangling  him,  she  with  her  weapon  gores 

Him  with  the  swarthy  horns  ; ' 
Lo  !  in  that  bath  with  water  filled  he  falls, 
Smitten  to  death,  and  I  to  thee  set  forth 
Crime  of  a  bath  of  blood, 
By  murderous  guile  devised. 

Antistrophk  VI 
Chor.  I  may  not  boast  that  I  keen  insight  have 
In  words  oracular  ;  yet  bode  I  ill.  """ 

What  tidings  good  are  brought 
By  any  oracles 

To  mortal  men  ?     These  arts. 
In  days  of  evil  sore,  with  many  words, 

1  The  "  yellow  "  look  of  fear  is  thought  of  as  being  caused  by 
an  actual  change  in  the  colour  of  the  blood  as  it  flows  through 
the  veins  to  the  heart. 

•  Here  there  is  prevision  as  well  as  clairvoyance.  The  deed 
is  not  yet  done.  The  sacrifice  and  the  (east  are  still  going  on, 
yet  she  sees  the  crime  in  all  its  circumstances. 

*  As  before  (v.  115)  the  black  eagle  had  been  the  symbol  of 
the  warrior-chief,  so  here  the  black-homed  bull,  that  bieing  one 
of  the  notes  of  the  best  breed  of  cattle.  A  various  reading  gives 
*•  with  htr  swarthy  horn." 

ii 


AGAMEMNON 

Do  still  but  bring  a  vague,  portentous  fear 
For  men  to  learn  and  know. 

Strophe  VII 
Cass.  Woe,  woe  !   for  all  sore  ills  that  fall  on  me  ! 
It  is  my  grief  thou  spealc'st  of,  blending  it 

With  his.^     [Pt7using,  and  then   crying   out.] 

Ah  !  wherefore  then 
Hast  thou'  thus  brought  me  here, 
Only  to  die  with  thee  ? 
What  other  doom  is  mine  ? 

Strophe  VIII 
C/>or.  Frenzied  art  thou,  and  by  some  God's  might 
swayed,  "^" 

And  utterest  for  thyself 
A  melody  which  is  no  melody, 
Like  to  that  tawny  one, 
Insatiate  in  her  wail. 
The  nightingale,  who  still  with  sorrowing  soul. 

And  "  Itys,  Itys,"  cry,* 
Bemoans  a  life  o'crflourishing  in  ills. 

Antistrophe  VII 
Cass.  Ah,  for  the  doom  of  clear-voiced  nightingale  ! 
The  Gods  gave  her  a  body  bearing  wings, 

1  What  the  Chorus  had  just  said  as  to  the  fruitlessness  of 
prophetic  insight  tallit- d  a11  too  well  with  her  own  bitter  experience. 

2  The  ecstasy  of  horror  interrupts  the  tenor  of  her  speech, 
and  the  second  "  thou"  is  addressed  not  to  the  Chorus,  but  to 
Agamemnon,  whose  death  Cassandra  has  jtist  witnessed  in  her 
vision. 

'  The  song  of  the  nightingale,  represented  by  these  sounds, 
was  connected  with  a  long  legend,  specially  Attic  in  its  origin. 
Philomela,  daughter  of  Pandion,  king  of  Attica,  suffered  outrage 
at  the  hands  of  Tereus,  who  was  married  to  her  sister  Procne, 
and  was  then  changed  into  a  nightingale,  destined  ever  to  lament 
over  the  fate  of  Itys  her  sister's  son.  The  earliest  form  of  the 
story  appears  in  the  Odyssey  (xix.  518).  Comp  Sophocles, 
SUetr.  V.  148. 

6z 


AGAMEMNON 

And  life  of  pleasant  dap 
With  no  fresh  cause  to  weep: 
But  for  me  waiteth  still 
Stroke  from  the  two-edged  sword. 

Antistrophe  VIII 

Chor.  From  what  source  hast  thou  these  dread  agonies 

Sent  on  thee  by  thy  God, 
Yet  vague  and  little  meaning  ;  and  thy  cries  "** 

Dire  with  ill-omened  shrieks 

Dost  utter  as  a  chant, 
And  blendest  with  them  strains  of  shrillest  grief? 

Whence  treadest  thou  this  track 
Of  evil-boding  path  of  prophecy  ? 

Stkophe  IX 

Cass.  Woe  for  the  marriage-ties,  the  marriage-ties 
Of  Paris  that  brought  ruin  on  his  friends! 

Woe  for  my  native  stream, 

Scamandros,  that  I  loved! 
Once  on  thy  banks  my  maiden  youth  was  reared, 

(Ah,  miserable  me!) 
Now  by  Cokytos  and  by  Acheron's  shores  *'* 

I  seem  too  likely  soon  to  utter  song 

Of  wild,  prophetic  speech. 

Strophe  X 

Chor.  What  hast  thou  spoken  now 
With  utterance  all  too  clear  ? 
*Even  a  boy  its  gist  might  understand  ; 
I  to  the  quick  am  pierced 
With  throe  of  deadly  pain, 
Whilst  thou  thy  moaning  cries  art  uttering 
Over  thy  sore  mischance, 
Wondroui  for  me  to  hear. 
63 


AGAMEMNON 

Antistbophe  IX 
Cass.  Woe  for  the  toil  and  trouble,  toil  and  trouble 
Of  city  that  is  utterly  destroyed! 

Woe  for  the  victims  slain 

Of  herds  that  roamed  the  fields,  ***• 

My  father's  sacrifice  to  save  his  towers ! 

No  healing  charm  they  brought 
To  save  the  city  from  its  present  doom  : 
And  I  with  hot  thoughts  wild  myself  shall  cast 

Full  soon  upon  the  ground. 

Antistrophe  X 
Chor.  This  that  thou  utterest  now 

With  all  before  agrees. 
Some  Power  above  dooms  thee  with  purpose  ill, 

Down-swooping  heavily, 

To  utter  with  thy  voice 
Sorrows  of  deepest  woe,  and  bringing  death. 

And  what  the  end  shall  be 

Perplexes  in  the  extreme. 
Cass.  Nay,  now  no  more  from  out  of  maiden  veils 
My  oracle  shall  glance,  like  bride  fresh  wed ;'  '"*' 

But  seems  as  though  'twould  rush  with  speedy  gales 
In  full,  clear  brightness  to  the  morning  dawn  ; 
So  that  a  greater  war  than  this  shall  surge 
Like  wave  against  the  sunlight.^     Now  I'll  teach 
No  more  in  parables.      Bear  witness  ye. 
As  running  with  me,  that  I  scent  the  track 
Of  evil  deeds  that  long  ago  were  wrought : 
For  never  are  they  absent  from  this  house, 

1  In  the  marriage-rites  of  the  Greeks  of  the  time  of  ^Eschylos, 
the  bride  for  three  days  after  the  wedding  wore  her  veil  ;  then, 
as  now  no  longer  shrinking  from  her  matron  life,  she  laid  it  aside 
and  looked  on  her  husband  with  unveiled  face. 

2  The  picture  might  be  drawn  by  any  artist  of  power,  but  we 
may,  perhaps,  trace  a  reproduction  of  one  of  the  grandest 
passages  in  the  Iliad  (iv.  433-426). 

64 


AGAMEMNON 

That  choral  band  which  chants  in  full  accord, 

Yet  no  good  music ;  good  is  not  their  theme. 

And  now,  as  having  drunk  men's  blood/  and  so 

Grown  wilder,  bolder,  see,  the  revelling  band,         "* 

Erinnycs  of  the  race,  still  haunt  the  halls. 

Not  easy  to  dismiss.     And  so"  they  sing, 

Close  cleaving  to  the  house,  its  primal  woe,^ 

And  vent  their  loathing  in  alternate  strains 

On  marriage-bed  of  brother  ruthless  found 

To  that  defiler.     *Miss  I  now,  or  hit. 

Like  archer  skilled  ?  or  am  I  seeress  false, 

A  babbler  vain  that  knocks  at  every  door  ? 

Yea,  swear  beforehand,  ere  I  die,  I  know 

(And  not  by  rumour  only)  all  the  sins 

Of  ancient  days  that  haunt  and  vex  this  house. 

Chor.  How  could  an  oath,  how  firm  soe'er  confirmed, 
Bring  aught  of  healing  ?     Lo,  I  marvel  at  thee,       '"" 
That  thou,  though  born  far  off  beyond  the  sea, 
Should'st  tell  an  alien  city's  tale  as  clear 
As  though  thyself  had  stood  by  all  the  while. 

Cass.  The  seer  Apollo  set  me  to  this  task. 

Chor.  Was  he  a  God,  so  smitten  with  desire  ? 

Cass.  There  was  a  time  when  shame  restrained  my 
speech. 

Chor.  True  ;  they  who  prosper  still  are  shy  and  coy. 

Cass.  He  wrestled  hard,  breathing  hot  love  on  me. 

Chor.  And  were  ye  one  in  act  whence  children  spring  ? 

Cass.  I  promised  Loxias,  then  I  broke  my  vow. 

Chor.    Wast    thou    e'en    then    possessed  with    arts 
divine  ?  "" 

1  So  in  the  Eununidts  (v.  293),  the  Erinnyes  appear  as  Tam- 
pires,  drinking  the  blood  of  their  victims. 

'  The  dt  ath  of  Myrtilos  as  the  first  crime  in  the  long  history 
of  the  house  of  Pelops.  Comp.  Soph.  Electr.  v.  470.  The 
"  deSler "  is  Thyestes,  who  seduced  Aerope,  the  wife  of 
Atreus. 

W  6S  » 


AGAMEMNON 

Cass.  E'en  then  my  country's  woes  I  prophesied. 

Chor.  How  wast   thou  then  unscathed  by  Loxias' 
wrath  ? 

Cass.  I  for  that  fault  with  no  man  gained  belief 

Chor.  To  us,  at  least,  thou  seem'st  to  speak  the  truth. 

Cass.  [^Again  speaking  wildly,  as  in  an  ecstasy.']  Ah, 
woe  is  me !    Woe's  me !    Oh,  ills  on  ills ! 
Again  the  dread  pang  of  true  prophet's  gift 
With  preludes  of  great  evil  dizzies  me. 
See  ye  those  children  sitting  on  the  house 
In  fashion  like  to  phantom  forms  of  dreams  ?  *"" 

Infants  who  perished  at  their  own  kin's  hands, 
Their  palms  filled  full  with  meat  of  their  own  flesh, 
Loom  on  my  sight,  the  heart  and  entrails  bearing, 
(A  sorry  burden  that !)  on  which  of  old 
Their  father  fed.'     And  in  revenge  for  tkis, 
I  say  a  lion,  dwelling  in  his  lair. 
With  not  a  spark  of  courage,  stay-at-home, 
Plots  'gainst  my  master,  now  he's  home  returned, 
(Yes  mine — for  still  I  must  the  slave's  yoke  bear ;) 
And  the  ship's  ruler,  Ilion's  conqueror. 
Knows  not  what  things  the  tongue  of  that  lewd  bitch 
Has  spoken  and  spun  out  in  welcome  smooth,  '^^^ 

And,  like  a  secret  Ate,  will  work  out 
With  dire  success :  thus  'tis  she  plans :  the  man 
Is  murdered  by  the  woman.     By  what  name 
Shall  I  that  loathed  monster  rightly  call  ? 
An  Amphisbaena  ?  or  a  Skylla  dwelling  * 

1  The  horror  of  the  Thyestes  banquet  again  haunts  her  sis  the 
source  of  a'l  the  evils  that  followed,  of  the  deaths  both  of 
Iphigeneia  and  Agamemnon.  The  "  stay-at-home "  is 
iEsjisthos. 

2  Both  words  point  to  the  Sindbad-like  stories  ot  distant 
marvels  brought  back  by  Greek  sailors.  The  Amphisbaena 
(double-goer),  wriggling  itself  backward  and  forward,  believed 
to  have  a  bead  at  each  extremity,  was  looked  upon  as  at  once 
the  naost  subtle  and  the  most  venomous  of  serpents.     Skylla, 

66 


AGAMEMNON 

Among  the  rocks,  the  sailors'  enemy  ? 

Hades'  fierce  raging  mother,  breathing  out 

Against  her  friends  a  curse  implacable  ? 

Ah,  how  she  raised  her  cry,  (oh,  daring  one!) 

As  for  the  rout  of  battle,  and  she  feigns 

To  hail  with  joy  her  husband's  safe  return  ! 

And  if  thou  dost  not  credit  this,  what  then  ? 

What  will  be  will.     Soon,  present,  pitying  me         "*" 

Thou'lt  own  I  am  too  true  a  prophetess. 

Ckor.  Thyestes'  banquet  on  his  children's  flesh 
I  know  and  shudder  at,  and  fear  o'ercomes  me, 
Hearing  not  counterfeits  of  fact,  but  truths  ; 
Yet  in  the  rest  I  hear  and  miss  my  path. 

Cass.  I  say  thou'lt  witness  Agamemnon's  death. 

Chor.  Hush,  wretched  woman,  close  those  lips  of 
thine ! 

Cass.  For  this  my  speech  no  healing  God's  at  hand. 

Chor.  True,  if  it  must  be  ;  but  may  God  avert  it !    '^*' 

Cass.  Thou  utterest  prayers,  but  others  murder  plot. 

Chor.  And  by  what  man  is  this  dire  evil  wrought  ? 

Cass.  Sure,  thou  hast  seen  my  bodings  all  amiss. 

Chor.  I  see  not  his  device  who  works  the  deed. 

Cass.  And  yet  I  speak  the  Hellenic  tongue  right  well. 

Chor.  So  does  the  Pythian,  yet  her  words  are  hard. 

Cass.  [Ifi  another  access  of  frenzy.']  Ah  me,  this  fire ! 
It  comes  upon  me  now ! 
Ah  me,  Apollo,  wolf-slayer !  woe  is  me ! 
This  biped  lioness  who  takes  to  bed 
A  wolf  in  absence  of  the  noble  lion,  ***' 

Will  slay  me,  wretched  me.     And,  as  one 
Mixing  a  poisoned  draught,  she  boasts  that  she 
Will  put  my  price  into  her  cup  of  wrath. 
Sharpening  her  sword  to  smite  her  spouse  with  death, 

already  famous  in  its  mythical  form  from  the  story  in  the 
Odyssey  (xii.    85-100),  was  probably  a  "development"   of  the 
monstrous  cuUle-fish  of  the  stiaits  of  Messina, 
67 


AGAMEMNON 

So  paying  him  for  bringing  me.     Oh,  why 
Do  I  still  wear  what  all  men  flout  and  scorn, 
My  wand  and  seeress  wreaths  around  my  neck  r* 
Thee,  ere  myself  I  die  I  will  destroy  :  [heaks  ker  wand'\ 
Perish  ye  thus:  [^casting  off  her  wreaths'^    I  soon  shall 

follow  you  : 
Make  rich  another  At^'  in  my  place ; 
Behold  Apollo's  self  is  stripping  me  ***** 

Of  my  divining  garments,  and  that  too. 
When  he  has  seen  me  even  in  this  garb 
Scorned  without  cause  among  my  friends  and  kin, 
*By  foes,  with  no  diversity  of  mood. 
Reviled  as  vagrant,  wandering  prophetess. 
Poor,  wretched,  famished,  I  endured  to  live : 
And  now  the  Seer  who  me  a  seeress  made 
Hath  brought  me  to  this  lot  of  deadly  doom. 
Now  for  my  father's  altar  there  awaits  me 
A  butcher's  block,  where  I  am  smitten  down 
By  slaughtering  stroke,  and  with  hot  gush  of  blood. 
But  the  Gods  will  not  slight  us  when  we're  dead ;   ^^^ 
Another  yet  shall  come  as  champion  for  us, 
A  son  who  slays  his  mother,  to  avenge 
His  father ;  and  the  exiled  wanderer 
Far  from  his  home,  shall  one  day  come  again, 
Upon  these  woes  to  set  the  coping-stone : 
For  the  high  Gods  have  sworn  a  mighty  oath. 
His  father's  fall,  laid  low,  shall  bring  him  back. 

1  As  in  Homer  (//.  i.  14)  so  hfre,  the  servant  of  Apollo  bears 
the  wand  of  augury,  and  fillets  or  wreaths  round  head  and 
arms.  The  divining  garments,  in  hke  manner,  were  of  white 
linen. 

2  If  we  adopt  this  reading,  we  mu-t  think  of  Cassandra  « 
identifying  herself  with  the  woe  (At6)  which  makes  up  her  life, 
just  as  afterwards  Clytaemnestra  speaks  of  herself  as  one  with 
the  avenging  Demon  (Alastor)  of  the  house  of  Atreus  (1473). 
The  alternative  reading  gives  — 

"  Make  rich  in  woe  another  in  my  place." 
68 


AGAMEMNON 

Why  then  do  I  thus  groan  in  this  new  home,* 

When,  to  begin  with,  Ilion's  town  I  saw 

Faring  as  it  did  fare,  and  they  who  held 

That  town  are  gone  by  judgment  of  the  Gods  ?       *'*' 

I  too  will  fare  as  they,  and  venture  death  : 

So  I  these  gates  of  Hades  now  address. 

And  pray  for  blow  that  bringeth  death  at  once, 

That  so  with  no  fierce  spasm,  while  the  blood 

Flows  in  calm  death,  I  then  may  close  mine  eyes. 

l^Goes  towards  the  door  of  the  palace 

Chor.  O  thou  most  wretched,  yet  again  most  wise  : 
Long  hast  thou  spoken,  lady,  but  if  well 
Thou  know'st  thy  doom,  why  to  the  altar  go^st  thou, 
Like  heifer  driven  of  God,  so  confidently  ?  "^  '*™ 

Cass.  For  me,  my  friends,  there  is  no  time  to  'scape.* 

Chor.  Yea  ;  but  he  gains  in  time  who  comes  the  last. 

Cass.  The  day  is  come  :  small  gain  for  me  in  flight. 

Chor.  Know  then  thou  sufFerest  with  a  heart  full 
brave. 

Cass.  Such  words  as  these  the  happy  never  hear. 

Chor.  Yet  mortal  man  may  welcome  noble  death. 

Cass.  [Shrinb'ng  hack  from  opening  the  door.]  Woe's 
me  for  thee  and  thy  brave  sons,  my  father !  * 

Chor.  What  cometh  now  ?  What  fear  oppresseth  thee  ? 

Cass.  \^Again  going  to  the  door  and  then  shuddering  in 
another  burst  of  frenzy. 1  Fie  on't,  fie ! 

1  Perhaps,  "  in  home  not  mine." 

2  When  the  Tictim,  instead  of  shrinking  and  struggling,  went, 
as  with  good  courage,  to  the  altar,  it  was  noted  as  a  sign  of 
divine  impulse.  Such  a  strange,  new  courage  the  Chorus  notices 
in  Cassandra. 

'  Possibly, 

"  My  one  escape,  my  friends,  is  but  delay." 

*  The  implied  thoughts  of  the  words  is  that  Priam  and  his 
sons,  though  they  had  died  nobly,  were  yet  miscable,  and  not 
happy. 


AGAMEMNON 

Chor.  Whence  comes  this  "Fie?"  unless  from  mind 
that  loathes  ?  [''*" 

Cass.  The  house  is  tainted  with  the  scent  of  death. 

Chor.  How  so  ?  This  smells  of  victims  on  the  hearth. 

Cass.   Nay,  it  is  like  the  blast  from  out  a  grave. 

Chor.  No  Syrian  ritual  tell'st  thou  for  our  house.* 

Cass.  Well  then  I  go,  and  e'en  within  will  wail 
My  fate  and  Agamemnon's.     And  for  me, 
Enough  of  life.     Ah,  friends!  Ah!  not  for  nought 
I  shrink  in  fear,  as  bird  shrinks  from  the  brake.* 
When  I  am  dead  do  ye  this  witness  bear, 
When  in  revenge  for  me,  a  woman.  Death 
A  woman- smites,  and  man  shall  fall  for  man  ""* 

In  evil  wedlock  wed.     This  friendly  office. 
As  one  about  to  die,  I  pray  you  do  me. 

Chor.  Thy  doom  foretold,  poor  sufferer,  moves  my  pity. 

Cass,  I  fain  would  speak  once  more,  yet  not  to  wail 
Mine  own  death-song ;  but  to  the  Sun  I  pray, 
To  his  last  rays,  that  my  avengers  wreak 
Upon  my  hated  murderers  judgment  due 
For  me,  who  die  a  slave's  death,  easy  prey. 
Ah,  life  of  man !  when  most  it  prospereth, 
*It  is  but  limned  in  outline  ;'  and  when  brought 
To  low  estate,  then  doth  the  sponge,  full  soaked,     ""^ 
Wipe  out  the  picture  with  its  frequent  touch : 
And  this  I  count  more  piteous  e'en  than  that.* 

[Passes  thi-ough  the  doer  into  the  faioce 

1  The  Syrian  rifial  had,  it  wouH  seem,  become  proverbial  for 
i's  lavish  useof  fmnkincen=e  and  other  spices. 

2  The  close  parallel  of  Shakespeare's  Henry  VI. ,  Act.  v.  sc  6, 
is  worth  quoting 

"  The  bird  that  hath  been  limed  in  a  bush. 
With  femblin?  eyes  misdoubteth  every  bush 

•  The  older  reading  gives — 

"  A  shado^v  might  o'ertum  it." 

*  Her  own  doom,  hard  as  it  was,  touches  her  less  than  the 
common  lot  of  human  sufTering  and  mutability. 

70 


AGAMEMNON 

Chor.  'Tis  true  of  all  men  that  they  never  set 
A  limit  to  good  fortune ;  none  doth  say, 

As  bidding  it  depart, 
*And  warding  it  from  palaces  of  pride, 
"Enter  thou  here  no  more." 
To  this  our  lord  the  Blest  Ones  gave  to  take 

Priam's  city  ;  and  he  comes 
Safe  to  his  home  and  honoured  by  the  Gods ; 

But  if  he  now  shall  pay 
The  forfeit  of  blood-guiltiness  of  old, 
And,  dying,  so  work  out  for  those  who  died, 
By  his  own  death  another  penalty,  **^" 

Who  then  of  mortal  men. 
Hearing  such  things  as  this. 
Can  boast  that  he  was  born 
With  fate  from  evil  free  ? 
Agam.  \Jrom  within?^  Ah,  me!  I  am  struck  down 

with  deadly  stroke. 
Chor.  Hush !  who  cries  out  with  deadly  stroke  sore 

smitten } 
Agam.  Ah  me,  again !  struck  down  a  second  time ! 

{Dies 
Choi-.  By  the  king's  groans  I  judge  the  deed  is  done ; 
But  let  us  now  confer  for  counsels  safe.^ 

Chor.  a.  I  give  you  my  advice  to  summon  here. 
Here  to  the  palace,  all  the  citizens.  '** 

Chor.  b.  I  think  it  best  to  rush  at  once  on  them, 
And  take  them  in  the  act  with  sword  yet  wet. 

Chor.  c.  And  I  too  give  like  counsel,  and  I  vote 
For  deed  of  some  kind.     'Tis  no  time  to  pause. 

Chor.  d.  Who  will  see,  may. — They  but  the  prelude 
work 
Of  tyranny  usurped  o'er  all  the  State. 

1  So  far  the  dialogue  has  been  sustained  by  the  Coryphaeos, 
or  leader  of  the  Chorus.  Now  each  member  of  it  speaks  and 
gives  his  counsel. 

71 


AGAMEMNON 

Chor.  e.  Yes,  we  are  slow,  but  they  who  trample  down 
The  thought  of  hesitation  slumber  not. 

Chor.f.  I  know  not  what  advice  to  find  or  speak  : 
He  who  can  act  knows  how  to  counsel  too.  ^**' 

Chor.  g.  I  too  think  with  thee ;  for  I  have  no  hope 
With  words  to  raise  the  dead  again  to  life. 

Chor.  h.  What !  Shall  we  drag  our  life  on  and  submit 
To  these  usurpers  that  defile  the  house  ? 

Chor.  i.  Nay,  that  we  cannot  bear :   To  die  were 
better ; 
For  death  is  gentler  far  than  tyranny. 

Chor.  k.  Shall  we  upon  this  evidence  of  groans 
Guess,  as  divining  that  our  lord  is  dead? 

Chor.  I.   When  we  know  clearly,  then  should  we 
discuss : 
To  guess  is  one  thing,  and  to  know  another.  ^**" 

Chor}  So  vote  I  too,  and  on  the  winning  side, 
Taking  the  votes  all  round  that  we  should  learn 
How  he,  the  son  of  Atreus,  farcth  now. 

Enter  ChYTJEUntsTRAjrom  the  palace,  in  robes  with 
stains  of  blood,  followed  by  soldiers  and  attendants. 
The  open  doors  show  the  corpses  «/" Agamemnon 
ana  Cassandra,  the  former  lying  in  a  silvered 
bath 

Clytam.  Though  many  words  before  to  suit  the 
time 
Were  spoken,  now  I  shall  not  be  ashamed 
The  contrary  to  utter :  How  could  one 
By  open  show  of  enmity  to  foes 
Who  seemed  as  friends,  fence  in  the  snares  of  death 
Too  high  to  be  o'erleapt  ?     But  as  for  me. 
Not  without  forethought  for  this  long  time  past, 

1  The  Coryphaeos  again  tikes  up  his  part,  sums  up,  and  pro- 
nounces his  decision. 

72 


AGAMEMNON 

This  conflict  comes  to  me  from  triumph  old* 

Of  his,  though  slowly  wrought.     I  stand  where  I     ***• 

Did  smite  him  down,  with  all  my  task  well  done. 

So  did  I  it,  (the  deed  deny  I  not,) 

That  he  could  nor  avert  his  doom  nor  flee  : 

I  cast  around  him  drag-net  as  for  fish. 

With  not  one  outlet,  evil  wealth  of  robe : 

And  twice  I  smote  him,  and  with  two  deep  groans 

He  dropped  his  limbs  :  And  when  he  thus  fell  down 

I  gave  him  yet  a  third,  thank-offering  true* 

To  Hades  of  the  dark,  who  guards  the  dead. 

So  fallen,  he  gasps  out  his  struggling  soul. 

And  breathing  forth  a  sharp,  quick  gush  of  blood, 

He  showers  dark  drops  of  gory  rain  on  me,  """ 

Who  no  less  joy  felt  in  them  than  the  corn. 

When  the  blade  bears,  in  glad  shower  given  of  God. 

Since  this  is  so,  ye  Argive  elders  here. 

Ye,  as  ye  will,  may  hail  the  deed,  but  I 

Boast  of  it.     And  were't  fitting  now  to  pour 

Libation  o'er  the  dead,*  'twere  justly  done. 

Yea  more  than  justly ;  such  a  goblet  fuH 

Of  ills  hath  he  filled  up  with  curses  dire 

At  home,  and  now  has  come  to  drain  it  off. 

Chor.  We  marvel  at  the  boldness  of  thy  tongue     *"" 
Who  o'er  thy  husband's  corpse  speak'st  vaunt  like  this. 

1  i.e.,  He  had  had  his  triumph  over  her  when,  forgetful  of  her 
mother's  feelings,  he  had  sacrificed  Iphigeneia.  She  has  now 
repad  him  to  the  full. 

2  Ihe  third  libation  at  all  feasts  was  to  Zeus,  as  the  Preserver 
or  Guardian  Deity.  Clytsemnestra  boasts  that  her  third  blow 
was  as  an  offering  to  a  God  of  other  kind,  to  Him  who  had  in 
his  keeping  not  the  living,  but  the  dead. 

'  So  in  the  Ckoephori  (vv.  351,  476),  the  custom  of  pouring 
libations  on  the  burial-place  of  the  dead  is  recognised  as  an 
element  of  their  blessedness  or  shame  in  Hades,  and  Agamemnon 
is  represented  as  lacking  the  honour  which  comes  from  tbem 
till  he  receives  it  at  the  hand  of  Orestes, 

73 


AGAMEMNON 

Clytigm.  Ye  test  me  as  a  woman  weak  of  mind  ; 
But  I  with  dauntless  heart  to  you  that  know 
Say  this,  and  whether  thou  dost  praise  or  blame, 
Is  all  alike  : — here  Agamemnon  lies, 
My  husband,  now  a  corpse,  of  this  right  hand, 
As  artist  just,  the  handiwork  :  so  stands  it. 

Strophe 
Chor.  What  evil  thing,  O  Queen,  or  reared  on  earth. 

Or  draught  from  salt  sea-wave  ^"* 

Hast  thou  fed  on,  to  bring 

Such  incense  on  thyself,^ 

A  people's  loud-voiced  curse  ? 

Twas  thou  did'st  sentence  him, 

'Twas  thou  did'st  strike  him  down  ; 

But  thou  shalt  exiled  be. 
Hated  with  strong  hate  of  the  citizens. 
Clytam.  Ha!  now  on  me  thou  lay'st  the  exile's  doom. 
My  subjects'  hate,  and  people's  loud-voiced  curse. 
Though  ne'er  did'st  thou  oppose  my  husband  there, 
Who,  with  no  more  regard  than  had  been  due 
To  a  brute's  death,  although  he  called  his  own 
Full  many  a  fleecy  sheep  in  pastures  bred, 
Yet  sacrificed  his  child,  the  dear-loved  fruit  '** 

Of  all  my  travail-pangs,  to  be  a  charm 
Against  the  winds  of  Thrakia.     Shouldst  thou  not 
Have  banished  him  from  out  this  land  of  ours, 
As  meed  for  all  his  crimes  ?     Yet  hearing  now 
My  deeds,  thou  art  a  judge  full  stern.     But  I 
Tell  thee  to  speak  thy  threats,  as  knowing  well 
I  am  prepared  that  thou  on  equal  terms 
Should'st  rule,  if  thou  dost  conquer.     But  if  God 

1  Incense  was  placed  on  the  head  of  the  victim.     The  Chorus 
tell  Clytaemn<"stra  tliat  she  has  brought  upon  her  own  head  the 
incense,  not  of  praise  and  admiration,  but  of  hatred  and  wrath, 
as  though  some  poison  had  driven  her  mad. 
74 


AGAMEMNON 

Should  otherwise  decree,  then  thou  shalt  learn, 
Late  though  it  be,  the  lesson  to  be  wise. 

Antistrophe 
Chor.  Yea,  thou  art  stout  of  heart,  and  speak'st  big 
words;  ^** 

And  maddened  is  thy  soul 
As  by  a  murderous  hate  ; 
And  still  upon  thy  brow 
Is  seen,  not  yet  avenged. 
The  stain  of  blood-spot  foul ; 
And  yet  it  needs  must  be, 
One  day  thou,  reft  of  friends, 
Shalt  pay  the  penalty  of  blow  for  blow. 
Cljtam.  Now  hear  thou  too  my  oaths  of  solemn  dread: 
By  my  accomplished  vengeance  for  my  child, 
By  At^  and  Erinnys,  unto  whom 
I  slew  him  as  a  victim,  I  look  not 
That  fear  should  come  beneath  this  roof  of  mine, 
So  long  as  on  my  hearth  iEgisthos  kindles  "^° 

The  flaming  fire,  as  well  disposed  to  me 
As  he  hath  been  aforetime.     He  to  us 
Is  no  slight  shield  of  stoutest  confidence. 
There  lies  he,  [fointing  to  the  corpse  ^/"Agamemnon,]  one 

who  foully  wronged  his  wife. 
The  darling  of  the  Chryseids  at  Tro'ia  ; 
And  there  [pointing  to  Cassandra]  this  captive  slave, 

this  auguress. 
His  concubine,  this  secress  trustworthy, 
•Who  shared  his  bed,  and  yet  was  as  well  known 
To  the  sailors  as  their  benches !   .  .  ,  They  have  fared 
Not  otherwise  than  they  deserved  :  for  he 
Lies  as  you  see.     And  she  who,  like  a  swan,' 

1  The  species  of  swan  refcTC  I   to  is  said  to  be  the   Cygnus 
AfusicMS.     Aristotle  [Hist.    Anim.   ix.   la)  deicribes  swans  of 
some  kind  as  having  been   heard  by  tailors  near  the  ooost  of 
75 


AGAMEMNON 

Has  chanted  out  her  last  and  dying  song,  *** 

Lies  close  to  him  she  loved,  and  so  has  brought 
The  zest  of  a  new  pleasure  to  my  bed. 

Strophe  I^ 
Chor.  Ah  me,  would  death  might  come 
Quickly,  with  no  sharp  throe  of  agony, 
Nor  long  bed-ridden  pain, 
Bringing  the  endless  sleep ; 
Since  he,  the  watchman  most  benign  of  all, 

Hath  now  been  smitten  low, 
And  by  a  woman's  means  hath  much  endured. 
And  at  a  woman's  hand  hath  lost  his  life ! 

Strophe  II 
Alas  !  alas !  O  Helen,  evil-souled,  •*•• 

Who,  though  but  one,  hast  slain 
Many,  yea,  very  many  lives  at  Troia.* 

Strophe  III 
*But  now  for  blood  that  may  not  be  washed  out 

*Thou  hast  to  full  bloom  brought 
•A  deed  of  guilt  for  ever  memorable, 

For  strife  was  in  the  house. 

Wrought  out  in  fullest  strength, 

Woe  for  a  husband's  life. 

Libya,  "  singing  with  a  lamentable  cry."  Mrs  Somervil'e 
{^Pkys.  Grog.,  c.  xxxiii.  3)  describes  their  note  as  "  like  that  of  a 
violin."  The  same  fact  is  reported  of  the  swins  of  Iceland  and 
other  regions  of  the  far  North.  The  strange,  tendT  beauty  of 
the  passage  in  the  Phcedo  of  Plato  (p.  85,  a),  which  speaks  of 
them  as  singing  when  at  the  point  of  death,  has  done  more  than 
anvthing  else  to  make  the  illustration  one  of  the  commonplaces 
of  rhetoric  and  poetry. 

1  The  structure  of  the  lyrical  dialogue  that  fullows  is  rather 
complicated,  and  different  editors  have  adopted  different  arrange* 
ments.     I  have  followed  Paley's. 

2  Several  lines  seem  to  have  dropped  out  by  some  accideot  of 
transcription. 

76 


AGAMEMNON 

Strophe  IV 
Clyt,rm.  Nay,  pray  not  thou  for  destiny  of  death, 
Oppressed  with  what  thou  see'sl ; 
Nor  turn  thou  against  Helena  thy  wrath,  ***" 

As  though  she  murderess  were, 
And,  though  but  one,  had  many  Danai's  souls 
Brought  low  in  death,  and  wrought  o'erwhelming  woe. 

Antistrophe  I 
Chor.         O  Power  that  dost  attack 
Our  palace  and  the  two  Tantalidas,' 

*And  dost  through  women  wield 
*A  might  that  grieves  my  heart!' 
And  o'er  the  body,  like  a  raven  foul, 

Against  all  laws  of  right, 
•Standing,  she  boasteth  in  her  pride  of  heart' 
That  she  can  chant  her  paean  hymn  of  praise.  ^*"' 

Antistrophe  IV 
Clyttgm.  Now  thou  dost  guide  aright   thy  speecli 
and  thought, 
Invoking  that  dread  Power, 
•The  thrice-gorged  evil  genius  of  this  house ; 

For  he  it  is  who  feeds 
In  the  heart's  depth  the  raging  lust  of  blood : 
Ere  the  old  wound  is  healed,  new  bloodshed  comes. 

Strophe  V 
Chor.         Yes,  of  a  Power  thou  tcU'st 
•Mighty  and  very  wrathful  to  this  house ; 

1  Agamemnon  and  Menelaos,  as  descended  from  Tantalos, 
the  father  of  Pt  lops. 

2  In  each  case  women,  Helen  and  Clytaemnestra,  had  been 
the  unconscious  instruments  of  the  divine  Nemesis,  to  which 
the  Chorus  traces  the  ruin  of  the  house  of  Atreus. 

*  Or,  with  another  reading, — 
"  He  (sc.  the  avenging  Demon)  boasteth  in  his  pride  of  heart. 
77 


AGAMEMNON 

Ah  me  !   ah  me  !  an  evil  tale  enough  "** 

Of  baleful  chance  of  doom, 

Insatiable  of  ill : 

Yet,  ah  !  it  is  through  Zeus, 
The  all-appointing  and  all-working  One  ; 

For  what  with  mortal  men 

Is  wrought  apart  from  Zeus  ? 
What  of  all  this  is  not  by  God  decreed?^ 

Sthophe  VI 

Ah  me  !  ah  me  ! 
My  king,  my  king,  how  shall  I  weep  for  thee  i 
What  shall  I  speak  from  heart  that  truly  loves  ? 
And  now  thou  liest  there,  breathing  out  thy  life,    "™ 

In  impious  deed  of  death, 

In  this  fell  spider's  web, — 

Strophe  VII 

(Yes,  woe  is  me  !  woe,  woe  ! 
Woe  for  this  couch  of  thine  dishonourable  !) — 

Slain  by  a  subtle  death,* 
With  sword  two-edged  which  her  right  hand  did  wield. 

Strophe  VIII 

Clytaem.  Thou  speak'st  big  words,  as  if  the  deed 
were  mine  ; 
Yet  think  thou  not  of  me. 
As  Agamemnon's  spouse  ; 
But  in  the  semblance  of  this  dead  man's  wife. 
The  old  and  keen  Avenger  of  the  house 
Of  Atreus,  that  cruel  banqueter  of  old, 

1  It  is  characteristic  of  the  teaching  of  i¥^chylos  that  the 
ChDHis  passes  from  the  thought  of  the  agency  of  any  lower 
Power  to  the  supreme  will  of  Zeus. 

'  Or,  "  Dving,  as  dies  a  slave." 

78 


AGAMEMNON 

Hath  wrought  out  vengeance  fall 

On  him  who  lieth  here,'  ***" 

And  full-grown  victim  slain 

Over  the  younger  victims  of  the  past.  * 

Antistrophe  V 
Chor.  That  thou  art  guiltless  found 
Of  this  foul  murder  who  will  witness  bear  ? 
How  can  it  be  so,  how  ?     And  yet,  perchance, 

As  helper  to  the  deed. 

Might  come  the  avenging  Fiend 

Of  that  ancestral  time  ; 
And  in  this  rush  of  murders  of  near  kin 

Dark  Ares  presses  on, 

Where  he  will  vengeance  work 
For  clotted  gore  of  children  slain  as  food,  '^"^ 

Antistrophe  VI 

Ah  me  !  ah  me  ! 
My  king,  my  king,  how  shall  I  weep  for  thee  ? 
What  shall  I  speak  from  heart  that  truly  loves  r 
And  now  thou  liest  there,  breathing  out  thy  life. 

In  impious  deed  of  death, 

In  this  fell  spider's  web, — 

Antistrophe  VII 

(Yes,  woe  is  me  !  woe,  woe  ! 
Woe  for  this  couch  of  thine  dishonourable  !) — 

Slain  by  a  subtle  death. 
With  sword  two-edged  which  her  right  hand  did  wield. 

Antistrophe  VIII 

Clyttem.  Nay,  not  dishonourable 

His  death  doth  seem  to  me  ; 

'*■  Clytaemnestra  still  harps  (though  in  ambiguous  words. 
which  may  refer  also  to  the  murder  of  the  children  of  ThyesteS) 
upon  the  death  of  Iphigeneia  as  the  crime  which  it  had  been  her 
work  to  avenge, 

79 


AGAMEMNON 

Did  he  not  work  a  doom, 

In  this  our  house  with  guile  ?*  "^^ 

Mine  own  dear  child,  begotten  of  this  man, 
Iphigeneia,  wept  with  many  a  tear, 
^e  slew  ;  now  slain  himself  in  recompense, 

Let  him  not  boast  in  Hell, 

Since  he  the  forfeit  pays. 

Pierced  by  the  sword  in  death. 
For  all  the  evil  that  his  hand  began. 

Stkophe  IX 

C^or.  I  stand  perplexed  in  soul,  deprived  of  power 

Of  quick  and  ready  thought. 

Where  now  to  turn,  since  thus  "^^ 

Our  home  is  falling  low. 

1  shrink  in  fear  from  the  fierce  pelting  storm 

Of  blood  that  shakes  the  basement  of  the  house : 

No  more  it  rains  in  drops : 

And  for  another  deed  of  mischief  dire, 

Fate  whets  the  righteous  doom 

On  other  whetstones  still. 

Antistrophe  II 

O  Earth!  O  Earth!  Oh,  would  thou  had'st  received  me, 

Ere  I  saw  him  on  couch 

Of  bath  with  silvered  walls  thus  stretched  in  death ! 

Who  now  will  bury  him,  who  wail  ?     Wilt  thou, 

When  thou  hast  slain  thy  husband,  have  the  heart    "^ 

To  mourn  his  death,  and  for  thy  monstrous  deeds 

Do  graceless  grace  ?     And  who  will  chant  the  dirge 

With  tears  in  truth  of  heart. 

Over  our  godlike  chief? 

Strophe  X 

Clytam.  It  is  not  thine  to  speak  ; 

Twas  at  our  hands  he  fell, 

1  Perhaps,  "  And  that,  too,  not  a  slafe's," 

80 


AGAMEMNOiSf 

Yea,  he  fell  low  in  death, 

And  we  will  bury  him,  '"" 

Not  with  the  bitter  tears  of  those  who  weep 

As  inmates  of  the  house  ; 
But  she,  his  child,  Iphigeneia,  there 
Shall  meet  her  father,  and  with  greeting  kindj 
E'en  as  is  fit,  by  that  swift-flowing  ford. 

Dark  stream  of  bitter  woes. 

Shall  clasp  him  in  her  armsj 

And  give  a  daughter's  kiss. 

Antistrophk  IX 

Chor.  Lo  !  still  reproach  upon  reproach  doth  com<: ; 

Hard  are  these  things  to  judge  : 

The  spoiler  still  is  spoiled, 

The  slayer  pays  his  debt  ; 
Yea,  while  Zeus  liveth  through  the  ages,  this  '**' 

Lives  also,  that  the  doer  dree  his  weird  ; 

For  this  is  law  fast  fixed. 
Who  now  can  drive  from  out  the  kingly  house 

The  brood  of  curses  dark  ? 

The  race  to  At^  cleaves. 

Antistrophe  X 

Clytam.  Yes,  thou  hast  touched  with  truth 

That  word  oracular  ; 

But  I  for  my  part  wish, 

(Binding  with  strongest  oath 
The  evil  daemon  of  the  Pleisthenids,)' 

Though  hard  it  be  to  bear. 
To  rest  content  with  this  our  present  lot  ; 
And,  for  the  future,  that  he  go  to  vex 
Another  race  with  homicidal  deaths.  *"• 

1  Here  the  genealogy  is  carried  one  step  further  to  Pleisthenes, 
tiie  father  of  Tantalos. 
u  81  r 


AGAMEMNON 

Lo  !  'tis  enough  for  me, 
Though  small  my  share  of  wealth. 
At  last  to  have  freed  my  house 
From  madness  that  sets  each  man's  hand  'gainst  each. 

Enter-  yEcisTHos 

^gtj.  Hail,  kindly  light  of  day  that  vengeance 
brings  ! 
Now  I  can  say  the  Gods  on  high  look  down, 
Avenging  men,  upon  the  woes  of  earth. 
Since  lying  in  the  robes  the  Erinnyes  wove 
I  see  this  man,  right  welcome  sight  to  me. 
Paying  for  deeds  his  father's  hand  had  wrought.      *** 
Atreus,  our  country's  ruler,  this  man's  father, 
Drove  out  my  sire  Thyestes,  his  own  brother, 
(To  tell  the  whole  truth,)  quarrelling  for  rule. 
An  exile  from  his  country  and  his  home. 
And  coming  back  a  suppliant  on  the  hearth, 
The  poor  Thyestes  found  a  lot  secure. 
Nor  did  he,  dying,  stain  the  soil  with  blood. 
There  in  his  home.     But  this  man's  godless  sire,* 
Atreus,  more  prompt  than  kindly  in  his  deeds. 
On  plea  of  keeping  festal  day  with  cheer. 
To  my  sire  banquet  gave  of  children's  flesh,  "™ 

His  own.     The  feet  and  finger-tips  of  hands 
*He,  sitting  at  the  top,  apart  concealed  ; 
And  straight  the  other,  in  his  blindness  taking 
The  parts  that  could  not  be  discerned,  did  eat 
A  meal  which,  as  thou  see'st,  perdition  works 
For  all  his  kin.     And  learning  afterwards 
The  deed  of  dread,  he  groaned  and  backward  fell, 
Vomits  the  feast  of  blood,  and  imprecates 

1  ^gisthos,  in  his  version  of  the  story,  suppresses  the  adultery 
of  Thyestes  with  the  wife  of  Atreus,  which  led  the  latter  to  his 
horrible  revenge. 


AGAMEMNON 

On  Pelops'  sons  a  doom  intolerable, 

And  makes  the  o'erturning  of  the  festive  board, 

With  fullest  justice,  as  a  general  curse, 

That  so  might  fall  the  race  of  Pleisthenes.  "*' 

And  now  thou  see'st  how  here  accordingly 

This  man  lies  fallen  ;  I,  of  fullest  right, 

The  weaver  of  the  plot  of  murderous  doom. 

For  me,  a  babe  in  swaddling-clothes,  he  banished 

With  my  poor  father,  me,  his  thirteenth  child  ; 

And  Vengeance  brought  me  back,  of  full  age  grown  : 

And  e'en  far  off  I  wrought  against  this  man. 

And  planned  the  whole  scheme  of  this  dark  device. 

And  so  e'en  death  were  now  right  good  for  me. 

Seeing  him  into  the  nets  of  Vengeance  fallen. 

Chor.  1  honour  not  this  arrogance  in  guilt,  "*• 

^gisthos.     Thou  confesses!  thou  hast  slain 
Of  thy  free  will  our  chieftain  here, — that  thou 
Alone  did'st  plot  this  murder  lamentable  ; 
Be  sure,  I  say,  thy  head  shall  not  escape 
The  righteous  curse  a  people  hurls  with  stones. 

Mgisth.  Dost  thou  say  this,  though  seated  on  the 
bench 
Of  lowest  oarsmen,  while  the  upper  row 
Commands  the  ship  ?'     But  thou  shalt  find,  though  old. 
How  hard  it  is  at  such  an  age  to  learn. 
When  the  word  is,  "  keep  temper."     But  a  prison 
And  fasting  pains  are  admirably  apt,  ""*' 

As  prophet-healers  even  for  old  age. 
Dost  see,  and  not  see  this  ?     Against  the  pricks 
Kick  not,"  lest  thou  perchance  should'st  smart  for  it. 

1  The  image  is  taken  from  the  trireme  with  its  three  benches 
full  of  rowers.  The  Chorus  is  compared  to  the  men  on  the  lowest, 
iEgisthos  and  Clytaemnestra  to  those  on  the  uppt-rmost  bench. 

^  The  earliest  occurrence  of  the  proverb  with  which  we  are 
familiar  through  the  history  of  St.  Paul's  conversion,  Acts  ix  5, 
xxvi.  14. 

83 


AGAMEMNOtsT 

Chor.  Thou,  thou,  O  Queen,  when  thy  lord  cani6 
from  war. 
While  keeping  house,  thy  husband's  bed  defiling, 
Did'st  scheme  this  death  for  this  our  hero-chief. 

jEgisth.  These  words  of  thine  shall  parents  prove 
of  tears : 
But  this  thy  tongue  is  Orpheus'  opposite  ; 
He  with  his  voice  led  all  things  on  for  joy. 
But  thou,  provoking  with  thy  childish  cries, 
Shalt  now  be  led  ;  and  then,  being  kept  in  check. 
Thou  shalt  appear  in  somewhat  gentler  mood.  ^''° 

Chor.  As  though  thou  should'st  o'er  Argives  ruler  be. 
Who  even  when  thou  plotted'st  this  man's  death 
Did'st  lack  good  heart  to  do  the  deed  thyself  ? 

JEgisth.   E'en  so  ;  to  work  this  fraud  was  clearly  part 
Fit  for  a  woman.     I  was  foe,  of  old 
Suspected.     But  now  will  I  with  his  wealth 
See  whether  I  his  subjects  may  command, 
And  him  who  will  not  hearken  I  will  yoke 
In  heavy  harness  as  a  full-fed  colt. 
Nowise  as  trace-horse  ;^  but  sharp  hunger  joined 
With  darksome  dungeon  shall  behold  him  tamed.    "*' 

Chor.  Why  did'st  not  thou  then,  coward  as  thou  art, 
Thyself  destroy  him  ?  but  a  woman  with  thee, 
Pollution  to  our  land  and  our  land's  Gods, 
She  slew  him.     Does  Orestes  see  the  light, 
Perchance,  that  he,  brought  back  by  Fortune's  grace, 
May  for  both  these  prove  slayer  strong  to  smite  ? 

JEgisth.    Well,    since    thou    think'st    to    act,    not 
merely  talk, 
Thou  shalt  know  clearly  .... 

[^Calling  his  Guards  from  the  palace 
On  then,  my  troops,  the  time  for  deeds  is  come. 

1  The  trace-horse,  as  not  under  the  pressure  of  the  collar,  was 
taken  as  the  type  of  free,  those  that  wore  the  yoke,  of  enforced 
submission. 

84 


AGAMEMNON 

Chor.  On  then,  let  each  man  grasp  his  sword  in  hand. 

JEgisth.  With   sword  in  hand,  I  too  shrink   not 
from  death.  ^"^ 

Chor.  Thou  talkest  of  thy  death  ;  we  hail  the  word  ; 
And  make  our  own  the  fortune  it  implies. 

Clyteem.  Nay,  let  us  not  do  other  evil  deeds. 
Thou  dearest  of  all  friends.     An  ill-starred  harvest 
It  is  to  have  reaped  so  many.     Enough  of  woe  : 
Let   no   more  blood    be    shed  :   Go  thou — [/•   the 

Chorus'] — go  ye. 
Ye  aged  sires,  to  your  allotted  homes, 
Ere  ye  do  aught  amiss  and  dree  your  weird  : 
*This  that  we  have  done  ought  to  have  sufficed ; 
But  should  it  prove  we've  had  enough  of  ills, 
We  will  accept  it  gladly,  stricken  low 
In  evil  doom  by  heavy  hand  of  God. 
This  is  a  woman's  counsel,  if  there  be 
That  deigns  to  hear  it. 

jEgiith.  But  that  these  should  fling 

The  blossoms  of  their  idle  speech  at  me,  ^•*' 

And  utter  words  like  these,  so  tempting  Fate, 
And  fail  of  counsel  wise,  and  flout  their  master  .  .  .  . ! 

Chor.  It  suits  not  Argives  on  the  vile  to  fawn. 

^giith.  Be  sure,  hereafter  I  will  hunt  thee  down. 

Chor.  Not  so,  if  God  should  guide  Orestes  back. 

^gisth.   Right  well   I  know    how  exiles  feed   on 
hopes. 

Chor.  Prosper,  wax  fat,  do  foul  wrong — 'tis  thy  day. 

^gisth.  Know  thou  shalt  pay  full  price  for  this 
thy  folly. 

Chor.  Be  bold,  and  boast,  like  cock  beside  his  mate. 

Clytam.   Nay,  care  not  thou  for  these  vain  howl- 
ings  ;  I 
And  thou  together,  ruling  o'er  the  house. 
Will  settle  all  things  rightly.  [Exeunf 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 


DRAMATIS  PERSONiE 

OsESTKS       Clyt^mnkstra       Pylades 
Elkctra      ^GiSTHOs  Nuru 

Servant  Chorus  of  Captive  Women 

ARGUMENT. — It  came  to  pass,  after  Agamemnon  had 
been  slain,  that  Clytcemnestra  and  Mgisthos  ruled  in 
Argos,  and  all  things  seemed  to  go  well  with  them. 
Orestes,  who  was  heir  to  Agamemnon,  they  had  sent 
away  to  the  care  of  Strophios  of  Phokis,  and  there  he 
abode.  Electra,  his  sister,  mourned  in  secret  over  her 
father^ s  death,  and  prayed  for  vengeance,  but  no  avenger 
came.  And  when  Orestes  grew  up  to  man's  estate,  he 
went  to  ask  counsel  of  the  God  at  Delphi,  and  the  Gods 
straitly  charged  him  to  take  vengeance  on  his  father's 
murderers ;  and  so  he  started  on  his  journey  with  his 
trusty  friend  Pylades,  and  arrived  at  Argos.  And  it 
chanced  that  a  little  while  before  he  came,  the  Gods  sent 
Clytamnestra  a  fearful  dream,  that  troubled  her  soul 
greatly  ;  and  in  her  terror  she  bade  Electra  go  with  her 
handmaids  to  pour  libations  on  the  tomb  of  Agamemnon, 
that  so  she  might  appease  his  soul,  and  propitiate  the 
Powers  that  rule  over  the  dark  world  of  the  dead. 


27 


THE  LIBATION-POURERS 

Scene. — Argo»,  In  front  cf  tkt  palace  of  tht  Atrtida.      The  tomb  »J 
Agamemnon  [a  raised  mound  of  earth)  is  seen  m  the  background. 

Enter  Orestes  and  Pylades  from  the  left;  Orestes 
advances  to  the  mound,  and,  as  he  speaks,  lays  on  it 
a  lock  of  his  hair. 

Orest.  O  Hermes  of  the  darkness  'neath  the  earth, 
Who  hast  the  charge  of  all  thy  Father's'  sway, 
To  me  who  pray  deliverer,  helper  be ; 
For  I  to  this  land  come,  from  exile  come. 
And  on  the  raised  mound  of  this  monument 
I  bid  my  father  hear  and  list.     One  tress, 
Thank-oft'ering  for  the  gifts  that  fed  my  youth. 
To  Inachos  I  consecrate,  and  this 
The  second  as  the  token  of  my  grief;* 

1  Hermes  is  invoked,  (i)  as  the  watcher  over  the  souls  of  the 
dead  in  Hades,  and  therefore  thenatuial  pairon  of  the  murdered 
Agamemnon  ;  (2)  as  exercising  an  authority  delegated  by  Zeus, 
and  therefore  capable  of  being,  like  Zeus  himself,  the  deliverer 
and  helper  of  suppliants.  So  Electra,  further  on,  invokes 
Hermes  in  the  same  character.  The  line  may,  however,  be 
rendered, 

' '  Who  stand's!  as  guardian  of  my  father's  house. " 
The  three  opening  lines  are  noticeable,  as  having  been  chosen 
by  Aristophanes  as  the  special  object  for  his  satirical  criticism 
(Frogs,   1 1 26- 1 1 76),  abounding  in  a  good  score  of  ambiguities 
and  tautologies. 

■■*  The  words  point  to  the  two  symbolic  asf^ects  of  one  and  the 
same  practice.  In  both  there  are  some  points  of  analogy  with 
the  earlier  and  later  forms  of  the  Nazarite  vow  among  the  Jews, 
(i)  As  being  part  of  the  body,  and  yet  separable  from  it  without 
(putilation,  it  became  the  representative  of  the  whole  man,  iwi(} 

«9 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

For  mine  it  was  not,  father,  being  by, 
Over  thy  death  to  groan,  nor  yet  to  stretch 
My  hand  forth  for  the  burial  of  thy  corpse. 

[Js  he  speaks,  Electra,  followed  by  a  train  of 
captive  women  in  black  garments,  bearing  liba- 
tions, wailing  and  tearing  their  clothes,  comes 
forth  from  the  palace 
What  see  I  now  ?     What  company  of  women 
Is  this  that  comes  in  mourning  garb  attired? 
What  chance  shall  I  conjecture  as  its  cause  X  *" 

Does  a  new  sorrow  fall  upon  this  house  ? 
Or  am  I  right  in  guessing  that  they  bring 
Libations  to  my  father,  soothing  gifts 
To  those  beneath  ?     It  cannot  but  be  so. 
I  think  Electra,  mine  own  sister,  comes. 
By  wailing  grief  conspicuous.     Thou,  O  Zeus, 
Grant  me  full  vengeance  for  my  father's  death, 
And  of  thine  own  good  will  my  helper  be ! 
Come,  Pylades,  and  let  us  stand  aside. 
That  I  may  clearly  learn  what  means  this  train 
Of  women  offering  prayers.  *° 

as  such  was  the  sign  of  a  votive  dedicatioD.  As  early  as  Homer, 
it  was  the  custom  of  youths  to  keep  one  long,  flowing  lock  as 
consecrated,  and  when  they  readied  manhood,  they  cut  it  off, 
and  offered  it  to  the  river-god  of  their  country,  throwing  it  into 
the  stream,  as  that  to  which,  directly  and  indirectly,  they  owed, 
their  nurture.  Here  the  offering  is  made  to  Inachos,  as  the 
hero-founder  of  Argos,  identified  with  the  river  that  bore  his 
name.  (2)  They  shaved  their  head,  wholly  or  in  part,  as  a  token 
of  grief,  and  then,  because  true  grief  for  the  dead  was  an 
acceptable  and  propitiatory  offering,  this  became  the  natural 
offering  for  suppliants  who  offered  their  prayers  at  the  tombs  of 
the  departed.  So  in  t^e  Aias  of  Sophocles  (v.  1174)  Teucroe 
calls  on  Eurysakes  to  approach  the  corpse  of  his  father,  holding 
in  his  hand  locks  of  his  own  hair,  his  mother's,  and  that  of 
Teucros.  In  the  offering  which  Achilles  makes  over  the  grave 
of  Patroclos  of  the  hair  which  he  had  cherished  for  the  river-god 
of  his  fatherland,  Spercheios,  we  have  the  union  of  the  two 
customs.  Homer, //.  xxiii.  141-151. 
90 


THE  LIBATION-POURERS 

Strophe  I 
Chor.  Sent  from  the  house  I  come, 
With  quick,  sharp  beatings  of  the  hands  in  grief. 

To  pour  libations  here  ; 
*And  see,  my  cheeks  with  bloody  marks  are  tracked,* 
The  new-cut  furrows  which  my  nails  have  made. 
And  evermore  my  heart  is  fed  with  groans  ; 

And  folds  of  mantles  tied 

Across  the  breast  are  rent 

To  shreds  and  rags  in  grief, 
•Marring  the  grace  of  linen  vestments  fair, 
*Since  we  by  woes  that  shut  out  smiles  are  smitten.  " 

Antistrophk  I 

*Full  clear  a  spectre  came 
That  made  each  single  hair  to  stand  on  end. 

Dream-prophet  of  this  house. 
That  e'en  in  sleep  breathes  out  avenging  wrath  ; 
And  from  the  secret  chamber  cried  in  fear 
A  cry  that  broke  the  silence  of  the  night,  . 

There,  where  the  women  dwell, 

Falling  with  heaviest  weight ; 

And  those  who  judge  such  dreams 
Told,  calling  God  to  witness,  that  the  souls 
Belowwerewroth  and  vexed  with  those  that  slew  them.  *• 

Strophe  II 
On  such  a  graceless  deed  of  grace,  as  charm 
To  ward  off  ill,  (O  Earth  !   O  mother  kind  !) 

A  godless  woman  now 

Sends  me  with  eager  heart ; 

1  After  the  widespread  fashion  of  the  East,  the  handmaids  of 
Clytaemnestra  (originally  Troian  captives)  had  to  rend  their 
clothes,  beat  their  breasts,  and  lacerate  their  face*  till  the  blood 
came.  The  higher  civilisation  of  Solon's  laws  had  forbitiden 
these  wild,  barbarous  forms  of  grief  at  Athens.  PlutarcU, 
Solon,  p.  164. 

V 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

And  yet  I  dread  to  utter  that  same  prayer  ; 

What  ransom  has  been  found 

For  blood  on  earth  once  poured  ? 

Oh  !   hearth  all  miserable  ! 
Oh  !  utter  overthrow  of  house  and  home  ! 
Yea,  mists  of  darkness,  sunless,  loathed  of  men,  ^ 

Cover  both  home  and  house 

With  its  lords'  bloody  deaths. 

Antistrophk  II 

Yea,  all  the  majesty  that  awed  of  old. 
Unchecked,  unconquered,  irresistible. 

Thrilling  the  people's  heart 

As  well  as  ears,  is  gone  ; 
There  are,  may  be,  that  fear  ;'  but  now  Success 

Is  man's  sole  God  and  more  ; 

Yet  stroke  of  Vengeance  swift 

Smites  some  in  life's  clear  day, 
For  some  who  tarry  long  their  sorrows  wait 
In  twilight  dim,  on  darkness'  borderland, 

*And  some  an  endless  night 

Of  nothingness  holds  fast. 

Strophe  III 

Because  of  blood  that  mother  earth  has  drunk, 
The  guilt  of  slaughter  that  will  vengeance  work 

Is  fixed  indelibly  ; 

And  At^,  working  grief,  *" 

Permits  awhile  the  guilty  one  to  wait. 
That  so  he  may  be  full  and  overflow 

•With  all-devouring  ill. 

1  Purposely,  perhaps,  obscure.  They  seem  to  say  that  the 
old  reverence  for  Agamemnon  has  passed  away,  and  instead  of 
it  there  is  only  a  slavish  fear  for  ^gisthos.  For  the  more  acute, 
however,  they  imply  that  those  who  have  cause  to  ;fear  are 
^jfisthos  and  Clytsemnestra  themselves. 


Ttt£  LlBATION-POtJRER^ 

Antistkophk  III 

For  him  whose  foul  touch  staini  the  marriage  bed* 
No  remedy  avails  ;  and  water-streams, 

Though  all  as  from  one  source 

Should  pour  to  cleanse  the  guilt 
*Of  murder  that  the  sin-stained  hand  defiles, 

•Would  yet  flow  all  in  vain 

*That  guilt  to  purify. 

Epode 
But  now  to  me,  since  the  high  Gods  have  sent 
A  doom  of  bondage  round  my  city's  walls, 

(For  from  my  father's  home 
They  have  brought  on  me  fate  of  slavery,) 

Deeds  right  and  wrong  alike 
Have  been  as  things  'twas  meet  I  should  accept,         "^ 

Since  this  slave-life  began. 
Where  deeds  are  done  by  violence  and  force, — 

And  I  must  needs  suppress 
*The  bitter  loathing  of  my  inmost  heart, 
•And  now  beneath  my  cloak  I  weep  and  wail 
*For  all  the  frustrate  fortunes  of  my  lords,' 

Chilled  through  with  secret  grief 
E/ect.  Ye  handmaids,  ye  who  deftly  tend  this  house, 
Since  ye  are  here  companions  in  my  task 
As  suppliants,  give  me  your  advice  in  this, 
What  shall  I  say  as  these  funereal  gifts 
I  pour  ?     How  shall  I  speak  acceptably  ?  * 

How  to  my  father  pray  ?     What  ?     Shall  I  say 

1  The  words,  in  their  generalising  sententiousness,  refer 
specially  to  the  twofold  crime  of  /Egisthos  as  an  adulterer  and 
murderer.  Then,  in  the  Epode,  the  Chorus  justify  themselves 
for  their  seeming  inconsistency  in  thus  abhorring  the  guilt,  and 
yet  acting  as  instruments  of  the  guilty  in  their  attempts  to  escape 
punishment. 

3  The  mourners  speak,  of  course,  of  Agamemnon  and  Orestes, 
not  of  iEgisthos  and  Clytaemnestra. 
93 


THE  LISATION-POURERS 

"  I  bring  from  loving  wife  to  husband  loved 
Gifts" — from  my  mother?     No,  I  am  not  bold 
Enough  for  that,  nor  know  I  what  to  speak, 
Pouring  this  chrism  on  my  father's  tomb,^ 
Or  shall  I  say  this  prayer,  as  men  are  wont, 
"  Good  recompense  make  thou  to  those  who  bring 
These  garlands,"  yea,  a  gift  full  well  deserved 
By  deeds  of  ill  ?     Or  dumb,  with  ignominy 
Like  that  with  which  he  perished,  shall  I  pour 
Libations  on  the  earth,  and  like  a  man 
That  flings  away  the  lustral  filth,  shall  I 
Throw  down   the  urn  and  walk  with  eyes  not 

turned?*  ^ 

Be  sharers  in  my  counsels,  O  my  friends ; 
A  common  hate  we  cherish  in  the  house  ; 
Hide  nothing  in  your  heart  through  fear  of  man. 
Fate's  doom  firm-fixed  awaits  alike  the  free, 
And  those  in  bondage  to  another's  hand. 
Speak,  if  thou  can'st  a  better  counsel  give.  '"' 

C/ior.  [/aying  their  hands  on  Agamemnon's  tombi\  Thy 

father's  tomb  as  altar  honouring, 
I,  as  thou  bidd'st,  will  speak  my  heart-thoughts  out ! 
Elect.  Speak,  then,  as  thou  my  father's  tomb  dost 

honour, 

1  A  mixture  of  meal,  honey,  and  oil  formed  the  half-liquid 
substance  commonly  used  for  these  funereal  libations.  The 
"garlands"  maybe  wreaths  of  flowers  or  fillets,  or  the  word 
may  be  used  figuratively  for  the  libation  itself,  as  crowning  the 
mound  in  which  Agamemnon  lay. 

2  The  words  point  to  a  strange  Athenian  custom.  When  a 
house  was  cleansed  of  that  which  defiled  it,  morally  or  physically, 
the  filth  was  carried  in  an  earthen  vessel  to  a  place  where  three 
ways  met,  and  the  worshipper  flung  the  vessel  behind  him,  and 
walked  away  without  tun.ing  to  look  at  it.  To  Electra's  mind, 
the  libation  which  her  mother  sends  is  equally  unclean,  and 
should  be  treated  in  the  same  way.  So  in  Horn.  //.  i.  314,  the 
Argives  purify  themselves,  and  then  cast  the  lustral  water  they 
have  used  into  the  sea.  Lev.  vi.  ii,  gives  us  an  analogous  usage. 
Comp.  also  Theocritos,  Idyll  xxiv.,  w.  32-97. 

94 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

Chor.  Say,  as  thou  pcmr'st,  good  words  for  those 

that  love, 
Elect,  Which  of  my  friends  shall  I  address  as  such  ! 
Chor.  First  then  thyself,  and  whoso  hates  -^gisthos. 
Elect.  Shall  I  for  thee,  as  for  myself,  pray  thus  ? 
Chor.  Now  that  thou'rt    learning,  judge   of  that 

thyself 
Elect.  Whom  shall  I  add  then  to  this  company  ? 
Chor.  Far  though  Orestes  be,  forget  him  not. 
Elect.  Right  well  is  this  :  thou  teachest  admirably. 
Chor.  Then,  for  the  blood-stained  ones  remembering 

say 

Elect.  What  then  ?     Explain,  and  teach  my  igno- 
rance.'  "» 
Chor.  That  there  may  come  to  them  some  God  or 

man  .  .  . 
Elect.  Shall  I  "as  judge"  or  as  "avenger"  say  .^ 
Chor.  Say  it  out  plain  1   "  to  give  them  death  for 

death."  .... 
Elect.  May  prayers  like  these  consist  with  piety  \ 
Chlr.  Why  not, — a  foe  with  evils  to  requite .-' 
Elect,  [moving  to  the  tomb,  and  pouring  libations  as  she 
speaks."]  *0  mightiest  herald  of  the  Gods  on  high 
And  those  below,  O  Hermes  of  the  dark, 
Call  thou  the  Powers  beneath,  and  bid  them  hear 
The  prayers  that  look  towards  my  father's  house ; 
And  Earth  herself,  who  all  things  bringeth  forth,      '* 
And  rears  them  and  again  receives  their  fruit. 
And  I  to  human  souls  libations  pouring. 
Say,  calling  on  my  father,  "  Pity  me ; 
How  shall  we  bring  our  dear  Orestes  home  ? " 
For  now  as  sold  to  ill  by  her  who  bore  us, 

1  Partly  it  is  the  youth  of  Electra  that  seeks  counsel  from 
those  who  had  more  experience ;  partly  she  shrinks  from  the 
responsibility  of  being  the  first  to  utter  the  formula  of  execra- 
tion. 

95 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

We  poor  ones  wander.     She  as  husband  gained 

-^gisthos,  who  was  partner  in  thy  death ; 

And  I  am  as  a  slave,  and  from  his  wealth 

Orestes  now  is  banished,  and  they  wax 

Full  haughty  in  the  wealth  thy  toil  had  gained.        ^**' 

And  that  Orestes  hither  with  good  luck 

May  come,  I  pray.    Hear  thou  that  prayer,  my  father ! 

And  to  myself  grant  thou  that  I  may  be 

Than  that  my  mother  wiser  far  of  heart, 

Holier  in  act.     For  us  this  prayer  I  pour} 

And  for  our  foes,  my  father,  this  I  pray, 

That  Justice  may  as  thine  avenger  come, 

And  that  thy  murderers  perish.     Thus  I  place 

Midway  in  prayer  for  good  that  now  I  speak. 

My  prayer  'gainst  them  for  evil.      Be  thou  then 

The  escort'  of  these  good  things  that  I  ask,  '** 

With  help  of  Gods,  and  Earth,  and  conquering  Justice. 

With  prayers  like  these  my  votive  gifts  I  pour ; 

And  as  for  you  [^turning  to  the  Chorus']  'tis  meet  with 

cries  to  crown 
The  paean  ye  utter,  wailing  for  the  dead. 

Strophe 
Chor.  *Pour  ye  the  pattering  tear, 
*Falling  for  fallen  lord, 
•Here  by  the  tomb  that  shuts  out  good  and  ill, — • 
Here,  where  the  full  libations  have  been  poured 
That  turn  aside  the  curse  men  deprecate. 

Hear  me,  O  Thou  my  Dread,  *'*' 

Hear  thou,  O  Sire,  the  words  my  dark  mind  speaks ! 

1  The  word  "escort"  has  a  sjjecial  reference  to  the  function 
of  Hermes  in  the  unseen  world.  As  he  was  wont  to  act  as  guide 
to  the  souls  of  the  dead  in  their  downward  journey,  so  now 
Electra  prays  that  he  may  lead  the  blessings  she  asks  for  upward 
from  the  dark  depths  of  Earth. 


THE   LIBATION-POUREkS 

Ahtistrophe 
Oh,  woe  is  me,  woe,  woe! 
Woe,  woe,  and  woe  is  me ! 
*What  warrior  strong  of  spear 
Shall  come  the  house  to  free, 
Or  Ares  with  his  Skythian  bow'  in  hand, 
Shaking  its  pliant  strength  in  deeds  of  war, 
*Or  guiding  in  encounter  closer  yet 

The  weapons  made  with  hilts  ? 
[During  the  choral  ode  Electra,  aper  going  to  the 
mound,  and  pouring  the  libations  on  it,  returns 
holding  in  her  hands  the  lock  of  hair  which 
Orestes  had  left  there 
Elect.  The  gifts  the  earth  hath  drunk,  my  father 
hath  them  : 
Now  this  new  wonder  come  and  share  with  me. 
Chor.  Speak  on,  my  heart  goes  pit-a-pat  with  fear. 
Elect.  There  on  the  tomb  I  see  this  lock  cut  off.   ^* 
Chor.  What  man  or  maid  low-girdled  can  it  claim  ? 
Elect.  Full  easy  this  for  any  one  to  guess. 
Chor.  Old  as  I  am,  may  I  from  younger  learn  ? 
Elect.  None  but  myself  could  cut  off  lock  like  this. 
Chor.  Yea,  foes  are  they  that  should  with  grief-locks 

mourn. 
Elect.  Yes,  surely,  'tis  indeed  the  self-same  hair  .  .  . 
Chor.  But  as  what  tresses  ?     This  I  seek  to  know. 
Elect.  And  of  a  truth  'tis  very  like  to  ours.  .  .  . 
Chor.  Did  then  Orestes  send  this  secret  gift?* 

1  The  Skythian  bow,  long  and  elastic,  bending  either  way, 
like  those  of  the  Arabians  (Herod,  vii.  69).  The  connection  of 
Ares  with  the  wild,  fierce  tribes  of  Thrakia  and  Skythia  meets 
us  again  and  again  in  the  literature  of  Greece.  He  was  the 
only  God  to  whom  they  built  temples  (ibid.  iv.  59).  They 
sacrificed  human  victims  to  an  iron  sword  as  his  more  appro- 
priate symbol  (iv.  62).  The  use  of  iron  for  weapons  of  war 
came  to  the  Greeks  from  them  {Seven  ag.  Th.  729  ;  Prom.  714). 

2  It  may  be  worth  while  to  compare  the  method  adopted  by 
u  ^7  9 


THE  LIBATION-POURERS 

Elect.  It  is  most  like  those  flowing  locks  of  his.    "° 

Chor.  Yet  how  had  he  adventured  to  come  hither? 

Elect.  He  to  his  father  sent  the  lock  as  gift. 

Chor.  Not  less  regretful  than  before,  thy  words, 
If  on  this  soil  his  foot  shall  never  tread. 

Elect.  Yea,  on  me  too  there  rushed  heart-surge  of 
gall 
And  I  was  smitten  as  with  dart  that  pierced  ; 
And  from  mine  eyes  there  fell  the  thirsty  drops 
That  pour  unchecked,  of  this  full  bitter  flood. 
As  I  this  lock  beheld.     How  can  I  think 
That  any  other  townsman  owns  this  hair  ?  '** 

Nay,  she  who  slew  ....  she  did  not  cut  it  off. 
My  mother  ....   who  towards  her  children  shows 
A  godless  mood  that  little  suits  the  name  ; 
And  yet  that  I  should  this  assert  outright. 
The  precious  gift  is  his  whom  most  of  men 

I  love,  Orestes Nay,  hope  flatters  me. 

Alas !  alas ! 

Would,  herald-like,  it  had  a  kindly  voice ! 

the  three  dramatists  of  Greece  in  bringing  about  the  recognition 
of  the  brother  by  the  sister,  i,  i )  Here  the  lock  of  hair,  in  its  peculiar 
colour  and  texture  resembling  her  own,  followed  by  the  likeness 
of  his  footsteps  to  hers,  prepares  the  way  first  for  vague  anticipa- 
tions, and  then  the  robe  she  had  made  for  him,  leads  to  her 
acceptance  of  Orestes  on  his  own  discovery  of  himself.  To  this  it 
has  been  objected,  by  Euripides  in  the  first  instance  (EUctra,  w. 
462-500),  that  the  evidence  of  the  colour  of  the  hair  is  weak, 
that  a  young  man's  foot  must  have  been  larger  than  a  maiden's, 
and  that  he  could  not  have  worn  as  a  man  the  garment  she  had 
made  for  him  as  a  child.  It  might  be  replied,  perhaps,  that 
there  are  such  things  as  hereditary  resemblances  extending  to 
the  colour  of  the  hair  and  the  arch  of  the  instep,  and  that  the 
robe  may  either  have  been  shown  instead  of  worn,  or,  being 
worn,  have  been  adapted  for  the  larger  growth.  (2)  In  the 
EUctra  of  Sophocles  the  lock  of  hair  alone  convinces  Chryso- 
themis  that  her  brother  is  near  at  hand  (v.  900),  while  Electra 
herself  requires  the  further  evidence  of  Agamemnon's  seal 
(v.  1333).  In  Euripides  (v.  537),  all  proof  fails  till  Orestes 
shows  a  scar  on  his  brow,  which  his  sister  remembers. 
98 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

So  should  I  not  turn  to  and  fro  in  doubt ; 

But  either  it  had  told  me  with  all  clearness 

To  loathe  this  tress,  if  cut  from  hated  head  ;  "" 

Or,  being  of  kin,  had  sought  to  share  my  grief, 

To  deck  the  tomb  and  do  my  father  honour. 

Chor.   Well,  on  the  Gods  we  call,  on  those  who 
know 
In  what  storms  we,  like  sailors,  now  are  tossed  : 
But  if  deliverance  may  indeed  be  ours. 
From  a  small  seed  a  mighty  trunk  may  grow.^ 

Elect.  Here  too  are  foot-prints  as  a  second  proof. 
Just  like  ,  .  .  yea,  close  resembling  those  of  mine. 
For  here  are  outlines  of  two  separate  feet. 
His  own  and  those  of  fellow-traveller,  *" 

And  all  the  heels  and  impress  of  the  feet, 
When  measured,  fit  well  with  my  footsteps  here  .... 
Pangs  come  on  me,  and  sore  bewilderment. 

\^As  she  ceases  speaking  Orestes  comes  forward 
from  his  concealment 
Orest.  Pray,    uttering    to    the    Gods    no    fruitless 
prayer. 
For  good  success  in  what  is  yet  to  come. 

Elect.  What  profits  now  to  me  the  Gods'  good  will  ? 
Orest.  Thou  see'st    those   here  whom   most   thou 

did'st  desire. 
Elect.  Whom  called  I  on,  that  thou  hast   know- 
ledge of? 
Orest.  Right  well  I  know  how  thou    dost  prize 
Orestes. 

1  The  saying  is  probably  one  of  the  widespread  proverbs 
which  imply  parables.  The  idea  is  obviously  that  with  which 
we  are  fainiliar  in  the  Gospel  "  grain  of  mustard  seed."  Here, 
as  in  the  "  kicking  against  the  pricks"  of  Acts  ix.  5,  xxvi.  14, 
and  Agam.  v.  1604,  we  are  carried  back  to  a  period  which  lies 
beyond  the  range  of  history  as  that  in  which  men  took  note  of 
the  Rtialogies  and  embodied  them  in  forms  like  this, 

99 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

EUct.  In  what  then  find  I   now  my  prayers  ful- 
filled ?  "« 

Orest.  Behold  me !     Seek  no  dearer  friend  than  I ! 

Elect.  Nay,  stranger,  dost  thou  weave  a  snare  for 
me  ? 

Orest.  Then  do  I  plot  my  schemes  against  myself. 

Elect.  Thou  seekest  to  make  merry  with  my  grief. 

Orest.  With  mine  then  also,  if  at  all  with  thine. 

Elect.  Art  thou  indeed  Orestes  that  I  speak  to  ? 

Orest.  Though   thou   see'st  him,  thou'rt  slow   to 
learn  'tis  I ; 
Yet  when  thou  saw'st  this  lock  of  mourner's  hair, 
And  did'st  the  foot-prints  track  my  feet  had  made, 
Agreeing  with  thine  own,  as  brother's  true, 
Then  did'st  thou  deem  in  hope  thou  looked'st  on  me.  ** 
Fit  then  this  lock  where  it  was  cut,  and  see ; 
See  too  this  woven  robe,  thine  own  hands'  work, 
The  shuttle's  stroke,  and  forms  of  beasts'  of  chase. 

[Electra  starts,  as  if  about  to  cry  aloud  for  joy 
Restrain  thyself,  nor  lose  thy  head  for  joy  : 
Our  nearest  kin,  I  know,  are  foes  to  us. 

Elect,  [embracing  Orestes]  Thou  whom  thy  father's 
house  most  loves,  most  prays  for. 
Our  one  sole  hope,  bewept  with  many  a  tear. 
Of  issue  that  shall  work  deliverance ! 
Thine  own  might  trusting,  thou  thy  father's  house 
Shalt  soon  win  back.     O  pleasant  fourfold  name !     *** 
I  needs  must  speak  to  thee  as  father  dear  ;  ^ 
The  love  I  owe  my  mother  turns  to  thee, 
(She  with  full  right  to  me  is  hateful  now,) 
My  sister's  too,  who  ruthlessly  was  slain  ; 

1  So  in  the  Odyssey  (xix.  228),  Odysseiis  appears  as  wearing 
a  woollen  cloak,  on  which  are  embroidered  the  figures  of  a  fawn 
and  a  dog. 

*  An  obvious  reproduction  of  the  words  of  Andromache 
(//.  vi.  429). 

too 


THE  LIBATION-POURERS 

And  thou  wast  ever  faithful  brother  found, 

And  one  whom  I  revered.     May  Might  and  Right, 

And  sovran  Zeus  as  third,  my  helpers  be ! 

Orest.  Zeus !  Zeus !  be  Thou  a  witness  of  our  troubles. 
See  the  lorn  brood  that  calls  an  eagle  sire. 
Eagle  that  perished  in  the  coils  and  folds  **" 

Of  a  fell  viper.     Now  on  them  bereaved 
Presses  gaunt  famine.     Not  as  yet  full-grown 
Are  they  to  bring  their  father's  booty  home. 
Thus  it  is  thine  to  see  in  me  and  her, 
(I  mean  Electra)  children  fatherless, 
Both  suffering  the  same  exile  from  our  home. 

Elect.  And  should'st  Thou  havoc  make  of  brood  ofsire 
Who  at  thine  altar  greatly  honoured  Thee, 
Whence  wilt  Thou  get  a  festive  offering 
From  hand  as  free  i  Nor,  should'st  Thou  bring  to  nought 
The  eagle's  nestlings,  would'st  thou  have  at  hand     **" 
A  messenger  to  bear  thy  will  to  man 
In  signs  persuasive ;  nor  when  withered  up 
This  royal  stock  shall  be,  will  it  again 
Wait  on  thine  altars  at  high  festivals : 
Oh,  bring  it  back,  and  then  Thou  too  wilt  raise 
From  low  estate  a  lofty  house,  which  now 
Seems  to  have  fallen,  fallen  utterly. 

Chor.  Ah,  children  !  saviours  of  your  father's  house, 
Hush,  hush,  lest  some  one  hear  you,  children  dear, 
And  for  mere  talking's  sake  report  all  this 
To  those  that  rule.     Ah,  would  I  might  behold  them 
Lie  dead  'midst  oozing  fir-pyre  blazing  high  !  ^  "• 

Orest.  Nay,  nay,  I  tell  you,  Loxias'  oracle, 

1  The  words  seem  to  imply  that  burning  alive  was  known 
among  the  Greek)  as  a  punishment  for  the  most  atrocious 
crimes.  The  "oozing  pitch,"  if  we  adopt  that  rendering, 
apparently  describes  somtthing  like  the  "tunica  motesta"  of 
Juvenal.  (Sat.  viii.  235.)  Hesychios  (s.  v.  Kuv^aat)  mentions 
the  practice  as  alluded  to  in  a  lost  play  of  i£schylos. 

lOI 


THE  LIBATION-POURERS 

In  strength  excelling,  will  not  fail  us  now, 
That  bade  me  on  this  enterprise  to  start. 
And  with  clear  voice  spake  often,  warning  me 
Of  chilling  pain-throes  at  the  fevered  heart, 
Unless  my  father's  murderers  I  should  chase. 
Bidding  me  Icill  them  in  the  self-same  fashion, 
Stirred  by  the  wrongs  that  pauperise  my  life, 
And  said  that  I  with  many  a  mischief  ill 
Should  pay  for  that  fault  with  mine  own  dear  life. 
For  making  known  to  men  the  charms  earth-born     '"" 
*That  soothe  the  wrathful  powers,'  he  spake  for  us 
Of  ills  as  follows,  leprous  sores  that  creep 
All  o'er  the  flesh,  and  as  with  cruel  jaws 
Eat  out  its  ancient  nature,  and  white  hairs' 
On  that  foul  ill  to  supervene :  and  still 
He  spake  of  other  onsets  of  the  Erinnyes, 
As  brought  to  issue  from  a  father's  blood ; 
For  the  dark  weapon  of  the  Gods  below 
Winged  by  our  kindred  that  lie  low  in  death, 
And  beg  for  vengeance,  yea,  and  madness  too, 
,  And  vague,  dim  fears  at  night  disturb  and  haunt  me, 
*Seeing  full  clearly,  though  I  move  my  brow'  '^ 

1  The  words  are  both  doubtful  and  obscure.  Taking  the 
reading  which  I  have  adopted,  they  seem  to  mean  that  while 
men  in  general  had  means  of  propitiating  the  Erinnyes  and 
other  Powers  for  the  guilt  of  unavenged  bloodshed,  Orestes  and 
Electra  had  no  such  way  of  escape  open  to  them.  If  they,  the 
next  of  kin,  failed  to  do  their  work,  they  would  be  exposed  to 
the  full  storm  of  wrath.  But  a  conjectural  emendation  of  one 
word  gives  us, 

"  For  making  known  to  men  the  earth-born  ills 
That  come  from  wrathful  Powers." 

2  Either  that  old  age  would  come  prematurely,  or  that  the 
hair  itself  would  share  the  leprous  whiteness  of  the  flesh. 

3  The  words,  as  tak^n  in  the  text,  refer  to  Orestes  seeing 
even  in  sleep  the  spectral  forms  of  the  Erinnyes.  By  some 
editors  the  verse  is  placed  after  v.  276,  and  the  lines  then  read 
thus:— 

104 


THE  LIBATION-POURERS 

In  the  thick  darkness  .  .  .  and  that  then  my  frame. 

Thus  tortured,  should  be  driven  from  the  city 

With  brass-knobbed  scourge  :  and  that  for  such  as  I 

It  was  not  given  to  share  the  wine-cup's  taste, 

Nor  votive  stream  in  pure  libation  poured ; 

And  that  my  father's  wrath  invisible 

Would  drive  me  from  all  altars,  and  that  none 

Should  take  me  in,  or  lodge  with  me ;  at  last, 

That,  loathed  of  all  and  friendless,  I  should  die, 

A  wretched  mummy,  all  my  strength  consumed. 

Must  I  not  trust  such  oracles  as  these  ? 

Yea,  though  I  trust  not,  must  the  deed  be  done ;     "" 

For  many  motives  now  in  one  converge, — 

The  God's  command,  great  sorrow  for  my  father ; 

My  lack  of  fortune,  this,  too,  urges  me 

Never  to  leave  our  noble  citizens. 

With  noblest  courage  Troia's  conquerors, 

To  be  the  subjects  to  two  women  thus ; 

Yea,  his  soul  is  as  woman's :  ^  an'  it  be  not. 

He  soon  shall  know  the  issue, 

Chor.  Grant  ye  from  Zeus,  O  mighty  Destinies ! 

That  so  our  work  may  end 
As  Justice  wills,  who  takes  our  side  at  last ;  ** 

Now  for  the  tongue  of  bitter  hate  let  tongue 
Of  bitter  hate  be  given.     Loud  and  long 
The  voice  of  Vengeance  claiming  now  her  debt ; 

And  for  the  murderous  blow 
Let  him  who  slew  with  murderous  blow  repay. 

"And  that  he  calls  fresh  onsets  of  the  Erinnyes 
As  brought  to  issue  from  a  father's  blood, 
Seeing  clearly,  though  he  move  his  brow  in  darkness." 
So  taken,  the  last  line  refers  to  Agamemnon,  who,  though  in 
the  darkness  of  Hades,  sees  the  penalties  which  will  fail  upon 
bis  son  should  he  neglect  to  take  vengeance  on  his  father's 
murderers. 

1  Stress  is  laid  here,  as  m  Agam.  1224,  on  the  effeminacy  of 
the  adulterer. 

103 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

"That  the  wrong-doer  bear  the  wrong  he  did," 
Thrice-ancient  saying  of  a  far-off  time/ 
This  speaketh  as  we  speak. 

Strophe  I 

Orest.  O  father,  sire  ill-starred, 

What  deed  or  word  could  I 

Waft  from  afar  to  thee. 

Where  thy  couch  holds  thee  now,  *" 

*To  be  a  light  with  dark  commensurate  ? 

Alike,  in  either  case, 
The  wail  that  tells  their  praise  is  welcome  gift 
To  those  Atreidaj,  guardians  of  our  house. 

Strophe  II 

Chor.  My  child,  my  child,  the  mighty  jaws  of  fire' 
Bind  not  the  mood  and  spirit  of  the  dead ! 
But  e'en  when  that  is  past  he  shows  his  wrath. 

When  he  that  dies  is  wailed. 

The  murderer  stands  revealed  :  '*' 

The  righteous  cry  for  parents  that  begat. 

To  fullest  utterance  roused, 

Searches  the  whole  truth  out. 

Antistrophe  I 

Elect.  Hear  then,  O  father,  now 
Our  tearful  griefs  in  turn  ; 

1  The  great  law  of  retribution  is  repeated  from  Agam.  1564. 
As  one  of  the  earliest  utterances  of  man's  moral  sense,  it  was 
referred  popularly  among  the  Greeks  to  Rhadamimthos,  who 
with  Minos  judged  the  souls  of  the  dead  in  Hades.  Comp. 
Aristot.  Ethic.  Nicom.,  v.  8. 

2  The  funeral  pyre,  which  consumes  the  body,  leaves  the  life 
and  power  of  the  man  untouched.  The  spirit  survires,  and 
calls  on  the  Gods  that  dwell  in  darkness  to  avenge  him.  The 
very  cry  of  wailing  tends,  as  a  prayer  to  them,  to  the  exposure 
of  the  murderer. 

104 


THE  LiBATION-POtfRERS 

From  us  thy  children  twain 

The  funeral  wail  ascends ; 
And  we,  as  suppliants  and  as  exiles  too, 

Find  shelter  at  thy  tomb. 
What  of  all  this  is  good,  what  void  of  ills  ?  ^^ 

Is  not  this  now  a  woe  invincible  ? 

Chr.  Yet,  even  yet,  from  evils  such  as  these, 
God,  if  He  will,  may  bring  more  pleasant  strains  : 
And  for  the  dirge  we  utter  by  the  tomb, 
A  paean  in  the  royal  house  may  raise 

Welcome  to  new-found  friend. 

Strophe  III 
Orest.  Had'st  thou  beneath  the  walls 
Of  Ilion,  O  my  sire. 
Been  slain  by  Lykian  foe,^ 
Pierced  through  and  through  with  spear, 
Leaving  high  fame  at  home,  **• 

And  laying  strong  and  sure 
*Thy  children's  paths  in  life. 
Then  had'st  thou  had  as  thine 
Far  off  across  the  sea 
A  mound  of  earth  heaped  high, 
To  all  thy  kith  and  kin  endurable. 

Antistrophe  II 
dor.  Yea,  and  as  friend  with  friends 
That  nobly  died,  he  then 
Had  dwelt  in  high  estate 
A  sovereign  ruler,  held 
Of  all  in  reverence, 
High  in  their  train  who  rule 
Supreme  in  that  dark  world  ;  ^ 

1  The  Lykians,  of  whom  Glaucos  and  Sarpedon  are  the 
representative  heroes  in  the  Iliad,  are  named  as  the  chief  allies 
of  the  Troians. 

los 


THE  LIBATION-POURERS 

For  he,  too,  while  he  lived, 
As  monarch  ruled  o'er  those 
Whose  hands  the  sceptre  held 
That  mortal  men  obey.^ 

Antistroph«  III 
Elect.  Not  even  'neath  the  walls 

Of  Troia,  O  my  sire, 

With  those  the  spear  hath  slain, 

Would  I  have  had  thee  lie 

By  fair  Scamandros'  stream  : 

No,  this  my  prayer  shall  be 

That  those  who  slew  thee  fall, 

*By  their  own  kin  struck  down,  *"" 

That  one  might  hear  far  off. 

Untried  by  woes  like  this. 
The  fate  that  brings  inevitable  death. 

Chor.  Of  blessings  more  than  golden,  O  my  child, 
Greater  than  greatest  fortune,  or  the  bliss 
Of  those  beyond  the  North ^  thou  speakest  now  ; 

For  this  is  in  thy  grasp  ; 
But  hold  ;  e'en  now  this  thud  of  double  scourge^ 

Finds  its  way  on  to  him  ; 

1  The  words  embody  the  widespread  feeling  that  the  absence 
of  funereal  honours  affected  the  spirit  of  the  dead,  and  that  the 
souls  with  whom  he  dwelt  held  him  in  high  or  low  esteem 
according  as  they  had  been  given  or  withheld. 

*  Pindar  (Pyth.  x.  47),  the  contemporary  of  .(Eschylos,  had 
made  the  name  of  these  Hyperborei  well  known  to  all  Greeks. 
The  vag^e  dreams  of  men,  before  the  earth  had  been  searched 
out,  pictured  a  happy  land  as  lying  beyond  their  reach.  There 
were  Islands  of  the  Blest  in  the  far  West ;  .(Ethiopians,  pedce- 
ful  and  long-lived,  in  the  South  ;  and  far  away,  beyond  the  cold 
North,  a  people  exempt  from  the  common  evils  of  humanity. 
The  latter  have  been  connected  with  the  old  Aryan  belief  in  the 
paradise  of  Mount  Mem.  Comp.  also  Herod,  iv.  421 ;  Prom. 
812. 

3  Sc. ,   the  beating  of  both   hands  upon  the  breast,  as  the 
Chorus  uttered  their  lamentations. 
106 


THE  LIBATION-POURERS 

Already  these  find  helpers  'neath  the  earth, 
But  of  those  rulers  whom  we  loathe  and  hate 

Unholy  are  the  hands  :  •" 

And  children  gain  the  day. 

Strophe  IV 
Elect.  Ah  !  this,  like  arrow,  pierces  through  the  ear! 
O  Zeus  !  O  Zeus  !  who  sendest  from  below 

A  woe  of  tardy  doom 
Upon  the  bold  and  subtle  hands  of  men  .... 
Nay,  though  they  parents  be, 
Yet  all  shall  be  fulfilled. 

Strophe  V 
Chor.  May  it  be  mine  to  chant  o'er  funeral  pyre 
*Cry  well  accordant  with  the  pine-fed  blaze,^ 
When  first  the  man  is  slain, 
And  his  wife  perlsheth  !  '* 

Why  should  I  hide  what  flutters  round  my  heart  ? 
On  my  heart's  prow  a  blast  blows  mightily. 
Keen  wrath  and  loathing  fierce. 

Antistrophe  IV 
Orest.  And  when  shall  Zeus,  the  orphan's  guardian 
true, 
Lay  to  his  hand  and  smite  the  guilty  heads  I 

So  may  our  land  learn  faith  ! 
Vengeance  I  claim  from  those  who  did  the  wrong.    *" 
Hear  me,  O  Earth,  and  ye, 
*Powers  held  in  awe  below  ! 
Ch$r.  Yea,  the  law  saith  that  gory  drops  once  shed 
Upon  the  ground  for  yet  more  blood  should  crave  ; 
*For  lo  !  fell  slaughter  on  Erinnys  calls, 

1  Perhaps,  simply  "the  sharp  and  bitter  cry."  But  the 
rendering  in  the  text  seems  justified  as  repeating  the  wish  already 
expressed  {v.  a6o),  that  the  murderers  may  die  by  this  form  of 
death. 

107 


THE  LIBATION. POURERS 

To  come  from  those  that  perished  long  ago, 
And  on  one  sorrow  other  sorrow  bring. 

Strophe  VI 
Elect.  *Ah,  ah,  O  Earth,  and  Lords  of  those  below! 
Behold,  ye  mighty  Curses  of  the  slain, 
Behold  the  remnant  of  the  Atreidae's  house 

Brought  to  extremest  strait,  ** 

Bereaved  of  house  and  home  ! 
Whither,  O  Zeus,  can  any  turn  for  help  ? 

Antistrophk  V 
Chor.  Ah,  my  fond  heart  is  quivering  in  dismay, 
*Hearing  this  loud  lament  most  lamentable  : 
Now  have  I  little  cheer, 
And  blackened  is  my  heart, 
'Hearing  that  speech  ;  but  then  again  when  hope 
*On  strength  uplifts  me,  far  it  drives  my  grief, 
•Propitious  seen  at  last. 

Antistrophe  VI 
Or  est.  What  could  we  speak  more  fitly  than  the 


woes 


410 


We  suffer,  yea,  and  from  a  parent's  hands  ? 
Well,  she  may  fawn  ;  our  mood  remains  unsoothed  ; 
For  like  a  wolf  untamed, 
"^     We  from  our  mother  take 
A  wrathfiil  soul  that  to  no  fawning  yields. 

Strophe  VII 

Chor.  *I  strike  an  Arian  stroke,  and  in  the  strain 
Of  Kissian  mourner  skilled,* 
Ye  might  have  seen  the  stretching  forth  of  hands, 

1  The  Chorus  at  this  point  renew  their  words  and  cries  ol 
lamentation,    smiting  on  their  breasts.      By  some   critics  this 
speech    and  Antistrophe  VII.  are   assigned  to   Electra,  Anti- 
strophe  VIII.  to  the  Chorus,  with  a  corresponding  change  in  the 
io8 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

With  rendings  of  the  hair,  and  random  blows, 

In  quick  succession  given, 
Dealt  from  above  with  arm  at  fullest  length, 
And  with  the  beating  still  my  head  is  stunned. 

Battered  and  full  of  woe. 
EUct.  O  mother,  hostile  found,  and  daring  all ! 

With  burial  as  of  foe 
Thou  had'st  the  heart  a  ruler  to  inter, 

His  citizens  not  there. 
As  pouse  unwept,  with  no  lamentings  loud. 

Strophe  VIII 
Orest.  Ah  !  thou  hast  told  the  whole  full  tale  of 
shame ; 
Shall  she  not  pay  then  for  that  outrage  dire 
Unto  my  father  done. 
So  far  as  Gods  prevail. 
So  far  as  my  hands  work  ? 
May  it  be  mine  to  smite  her  and  then  die  !  ^ 

Antistrophe  VII 
Chor.  Yea,  he  was  maimed !  ^  (that  thou  the  tale 
may'st  know) 
And  as  she  slaughtered,  so  she  buried  him. 

Seeking  to  work  a  doom 
For  thy  young  life  all  unendurable. 

pronouns  "my"  and  "thy."  The  Chorus,  as  consisting  of 
Troian  captives,  is  represented  as  adopting  the  more  vehement 
Asiatic  forms  of  wailing.  Among  these  the  Arians,  Kissians, 
and  Mariandyniaris  (Pers.  920)  seem  to  have  been  most  con- 
spicuous for  their  skill  in  lamentation,  and,  as  such,  were  in 
request  where  hired  mourners  were  wanted.  Compare  the 
opening  chorus,  v.  22. 

1  The  practice  of  mutilating  the  corpse  of  a  murdered  man  by 
cutting  off  his  hands  and  feet  and  fastening  them  round  his 
waist,  seems  to  have  been  looked  on  as  rendering  him  pxjwerless 
to  seek  for  vengeance.  Comp.  Soph.  Elect,  v.  437.  This  kind 
of  mutilation,  and  not  mere  wanton  outrage,  is  what  the  Chorus 
refer  to, 

109 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

Now  thou  dost  hear  the  woes 
Thy  father  suffered,  stained  with  foulest  shame. 

Antistrophe  VIII 
Elect.  Thou  tellest  of  my  father's  death,  but  I 
Stood  afar  off,  contemned. 
Counted  as  nought,  and  like  a  cursed  hound 
Shut  up  within,  I  poured  the  tide  of  tears 

(More  ready  they  than  smiles) 
Uttering  in  secret  wail  of  weeping  full.  *** 

Hear  thou  these  things,  and  write  them  in  my  mind. 

Chor.  Let  the  tale  pierce  thine  ears, 
While  thy  soul  onward  moves  with  tranquil  step : 

So  much,  thou  know'st,  stands  thus ; 
Seek  thou  with  all  desire  to  know  the  rest ; 

'Tis  meet  to  enter  now 
Within  the  lists  with  mind  inflexible. 

Strophe  IX 

Orest.  I  bid  thee,  O  my  father,  help  thy  friends. 
Elect.  Bitterly  weeping,  these  my  tears  I  add. 
Chor.  With  full  accord  so  cries  our  company. 

Come  then  to  light,  and  hear ;  *^ 

Be  with  us  'gainst  our  foes. 

Antistrophe  IX 

Orest.    My  Might    their   Might,  my  Right  their 
Right  must  meet. 

Elect.  *Ye  Gods,  give  righteous  issue  in  our  cause. 

Chor.  Fear  creeps  upon  me  as  I  hear  your  prayers. 
Long  tarries  destiny, 
But  comes  to  those  who  pray. 

Strophe  X 
Bemi-Chor.  A.  Oh,  woe  that  haunts  the  race, 
And  harsh,  shrill  stroke  of  At^'s  bloody  scourge  ! 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

Woes  sad  and  hard  to  bear,  *•* 

Calling  for  wailing  loud, 
Ah,  woe  is  me,  a  grief  immedicable. 

Antistrophe  X 

Semi-Chor.  B,  Yea,  but  as  cure  for  this. 
And  healing  salve,  'tis  yours  with  your  own  hands. 
With  no  help  from  without, 
*To  press  your  suit  of  blood  ; 
So  runs  our  hymn  to  those  great  Gods  below. 

Chor.  Yea,  hearing  now,  ye  blest  Ones  'neath  the 
earth. 
This  prayer,  send  ye  your  children  timely  help 
That  worketh  victory. 

Orest.  O  sire,  who  in  no  kingly  fashion  died'st,    *™ 
Hear  thou  my  prayer ;  grant  victory  o'er  this  house. 

Elect.  I,  father,  ask  this  prayer,  that  I  may  work 
*yEgIsthos'  death,  and  then  acquittal  gain. 

Orest.  Yea,  thus  the  banquets  that  men  give  the  dead 
Would  for  thee  too  be  held,  but  otherwise 
*Dishonoured  wilt  thou  lie  'mid  those  that  feast,' 
Robbed  of  thy  country's  rich  burnt-offerings. 

Elect.  I  too  from  out  my  father's  house  will  bring 
Libations  from  mine  own  inheritance. 
As  marriage  offerings.     Chief  and  first  of  all. 
Will  I  do  honour  to  this  sepulchre.  \^ 

Orest.  Set  free  my  sire,  O  Earth,  to  watch  the  battle. 

1  As  in  V.  351  the  loss  of  honour  among  the  dead  was  repre- 
sented as  one  consequence  of  the  absence  of  funereal  rites  from 
those  who  loved  the  dead,  so  here  the  restoration  of  the  children 
to  their  rights  appears  as  the  condition  without  which  that  dis- 
honour must  continue.  If  they  succeed,  then,  and  then  only, 
can  they  offer  funereal  banquets,  year  by  year,  as  was  the 
custom.  There  may  be  a  special  reference  to  an  Argive  custom 
mentioned  by  Plutarch  {Qutest.  Grac,  c.  34)  of  sacrificing  im- 
mediately after  the  death  of  a  relative  to  Apollo,  and  thirty  days 
•later  to  Hermes. 

Ill 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

Elect.  O  Persephassa,  goodly  victory  grant ! 

Orest.  Remember,  sire,  the  bath  in  which  they  slew 
thee! 

Elect.  *Remember  thou  the  net  they  handselled  so  ! 

Orest.  In  fetters  not  of  brass  wast  thou  snared,  father. 

Elect.  Yea,  basely  with  that  mantle  they  devised. 

Orest.  Art  thou  not  roused  by  these  reproaches,  father  ? 

Elect.  Dost  thou  not  lift  thine  head  for  those  thou 
lov'st  ? 

Orest.  Or  send  thou  Vengeance  to  assist  thy  friends ; 
Or  let  them  get  like  grasp  of  those  thy  foes, 
If  thou,  o'ercome,  dost  wish  to  conquer  them.  '"^ 

Elect.  And  hear  thou  this  last  prayer  of  mine,  my 
father. 
Seeing  us  thy  nestlings  sitting  at  thy  tomb, 
Have  mercy  on  thy  boy  and  on  thy  girl ; 
Nor  blot  thou  out  the  seed  of  Pelopids : 
So  thou,  though  thou  hast  died,  art  yet  not  dead  ; 
For  children  are  the  voices  that  preserve 
Man's  memory  when  he  dies :  so  bear  the  net 
The  corks  that  float  the  flax-mesh  from  the  deep. 
Hear  thou  :  This  is  our  wailing  cry  for  thee, 
And  thou,  our  prayer  regarding,  sav'st  thyself  *" 

Chor.  Unblamed  have  ye  your  utterance  lengthened 
out, 
Amends  for  that  his  tomb's  unwept-for  lot. 
But  as  to  what  remains,  since  thou'rt  resolved 
To  act,  act  now  ;  make  trial  of  thy  Fate. 

Orest.   So  shall  it  be.     Yet  'tis  not  out  of  course 
To  ask  why  she  libations  sent,  why  thus 
Too  late  she  cares  for  ill  she  cannot  cure  ? 
Yea,  to  a  dead  man  heeding  not  'twas  sent, 
A  sorry  offering.     Why,  I  fail  to  guess : 
The  gifts  are  far  too  little  for  the  fault ;  "^ 

For  should  a  man  pour  all  he  has  to  pay 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

For  one  small  drop  of  blood,  the  toil  were  vain  : 
So  runs  the  saying.      But  if  thou  dost  know, 
Tell  this  to  me  as  wishing  much  to  learn. 

Chor.  I  know,  my  child,  for  I  was  by.    Stirred  on 
By  dreams  and  wandering  terrors  of  the  night. 
That  godless  woman  these  libations  sent. 

Orest.  And  have  ye  learnt  the  dream,  to  tell  it  right  ? 

Chor.  As  she  doth  say,  she  thought  she  bare  a  snake. 

Orest.  How  ends  the  tale,  and  what  its  outcome  then  ? 

Chor.  She    nursed    it,  like  a    child,   in   swaddling 
clothes.  «* 

Orest.  What  food  did  that  young  monster  crave  for 
then  ? 

Chor.  She  in  her  dream  her  bosom  gave  to  it. 

Orest.  How  'scaped  her  breast  by  that  dread  beast 
unhurt  ? 

Chor.  Nay,  with  the  milk  it  sucked  out  clots  of  blood. 

Orest.  Ah,  not  in  vain  comes  this  dream  from  her  lord. 

Chor.  She,  roused  from  sleep,  cries  out  all  terrified, 
And  many  torches  that  were  quenched  in  gloom 
Blazed  for  our  mistress'  sake  within  the  house. 
Then  these  libations  for  the  dead  she  sends. 
Hoping  they'll  prove  good  medicine  of  ills.  '*• 

Orest.  Now  to  Earth  here  and  my  sire's  tomb  I  pray 
They  leave  not  this  strange  vision  unfulfilled. 
So  I  expound  it  that  it  all  coheres ; 
For  if,  the  self-same  spot  that  I  left  leaving, 
*The  snake  was  then  wrapt  in  my  swaddling  clothes, 
And  sucked  the  very  breast  that  nourished  me, 
And  mixed  the  sweet  milk  with  a  clot  of  blood, 
And  she  in  terror  wailed  the  strange  event, 
So  must  she,  as  that  monster  dread  she  nourished. 
Die  cruel  death  :  and  J,  thus  serpentised,  "* 

Am  here  to  slay  her,  as  this  dream  portends ; 
I  take  thee  as  my  dream-interpreter. 
u  113  a 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

Chor.  So  be  it ;  but  in  all  else  guide  thy  friends ; 
*Bid  some  do  this,  some  that,  some  nought  at  all. 

Or  est.  Simple  my  orders,  that  she  [/«»//«j^  /«  Electra] 
go  within  ; 
And  you,  I  charge  you,  hide  these  plans  of  mine, 
That  they  who  slew  a  noble  soul  by  guile. 
By  guile  may  die  and  in  the  self-same  snare 
Be  caught,  as  Loxias  gave  his  oracle. 
The  king  Apollo,  seer  that  never  lied  :  •* 

For  like  a  stranger  in  full  harness  clad 
Will  I  draw  near  with  this  man,  Pylades, 
To  the  great  gates,  a  stranger  1,  and  he, 
Ally  in  arms.     And  then  we  both  will  speak 
Parnassian  speech,  and  imitate  the  tone 
Of  Phokian  tongue.     And  should  no  porter  there 
Give  us  good  welcome,  on  the  ground  that  now 
The  house  with  ills  is  haunted,  there  we'll  stay, 
So  that  a  man  who  passeth  by  the  house 
Will  guess,  and  thus  will  speak,  "  Why  drives  ^gisthos 
The  suppliant  from  his  gate,  if  he's  at  home  [**' 

And  knows  it  ?"     But  if  I  should  pass  the  threshold 
Of  the  great  gate,  and  find  him  seated  there 
Upon  my  father's  throne,  or  if  he  comes 
And  meets  me,  face  to  face,  and  lifts  his  eyes. 
And  drops  them,  then  be  sure,  before  he  says, 
"  Whence  is  this  stranger  ? " — I  will  lay  him  dead. 
With  my  swift-footed  brazen  weapon  pierced  ; 
And  then  Erinnys,  stinted  not  in  slaughter, 
Shall  drink  her  third  draught  of  unmingled  blood.' 
Thou,  then,  \to  Electra]  watch  well  what  passes  in 
the  house,  "" 

So  that  these  things  may  dovetail  close  and  well  : 

1  Another  reference  to  the  third  cup  of  undiluted  wine  which 
men  drank  to  the  honour  of  Zeus  the  Preserver.  Comp.  Agam. 
V-  245- 

"4 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

And  you  [to  the  Chorus\  I  bid  to  keep  a  tongue  discreet, 

Silent,  if  need  be,  or  the  righ:  word  speaking, 

And  Him'  [pointiffg  to  the  statue  of  Jpo/lo]  I  call  to 

look  upon  me  here, 
Since  he  has  set  me  on  this  strife  of  swords. 

[Exeunt  Orestes,  Pylades,  and  Electra 

Strophe  I 

Chor.  Many  dread  forms  of  evils  terrible 
Earth  bears,  and  Ocean's  bays 
With  monsters  wild  and  fierce 
•O'erflow,  and  through  mid-air  the  meteor  lights     '*' 

Sweep  by  ;  and  winged  birds 
And  creeping  things  can  tell  the  vehement  rage 
Of  whirling  storms  of  winds. 

Antistrophe  I 

But  who  man's  temper  overbold  may  tell, 

Or  daring  passionate  loves 

Of  women  bold  in  heart. 
Passions  close  bound  with  men's  calamities  ? 

Love  that  true  love  disowns, 
That  sways  the  weaker  sex  in  brutes  and  men,  '•" 

Usurps  o'er  wedlock's  ties. 

Strophe  II 

Whoso  is  not  bird-witted,  let  him  think 

What  scheme  she  learnt  to  plan, 
Of  subtle  craft  that  wrought  its  will  by  fire, 
That  wretched  child  of  Thestios,  who  to  slay 

Her  son  did  set  a-blaze 

The  brand  that  glowed  blnod-red, 
Which  had  its  birth  when  first  from  out  the  womb 

He  came  with  infant's  wail, 

*  Possibly  the  pronoun  refers  to  Pylades. 


THE    LIBATION-POURERS 

And  spanned  the  measure  of  its  life  with  his,  *" 

On  to  the  destined  day.' 

Antistrophe  II 
Another,  too,  must  we  with  loathing  name, 

Skylla,  with  blood  defiled.* 
Who  for  the  sake  of  foes  a  dear  one  slew, 
Won  by  the  gold-chased  bracelets  brought  from  Crete, 

The  gifts  that  Minos  gave. 

And  knowing  not  the  end. 
Robbed  Nisos  of  his  lock  of  deathless  life, 

She  with  her  dog-like  heart  •'" 

Surprising  him  deep-breathing  in  his  sleep ; 

But  Hermes  comes  on  her.' 

1  The  story  of  Althaea  has  perhaps  been  made  most  familiar 
to  English  readers  by  Mr.  Swinburne's  Atalanta  in  Calydon. 
More  briefly  told,  the  legend  ran  that  she,  being  the  wife  of 
(Eneus,  bare  a  son,  vrho  was  believed  to  be  the  child  of  Ares — 
that  the  Fates  came  to  her  when  the  boy,  who  was  named 
Meleagros,  was  seven  days  old,  and  told  her  that  his  life  should 
last  until  the  firebrand  then  burning  on  the  earth  should  be  con- 
sumed. She  took  the  firebrand  and  quenched  it,  and  laid  it  by 
in  a  chest ;  but  when  Meleagros  grew  up,  he  joined  in  the  chase 
of  the  great  boar  of  Calydon,  and  when  he  had  slain  it,  gave  the 
skin  as  a  trophy  to  Atalanra,  and  when  his  mother's  brothers, 
the  sons  of  Thestios,  claimed  it  as  their  right,  he  waxed  wroth 
with  them  and  slew  them.  And  then  Althasa,  in  her  grief,  caring 
more  for  her  brothers  than  her  son,  took  the  brand  from  the 
chest,  and  threw  it  into  the  fire,  and  so  Meleagros  died.  Phryni- 
chos  is  said  to  have  made  the  myth  the  subject  of  a  drama.  In 
Homer  (//.  x.  566),  Althaea  brings  about  her  son's  death  by  her 
curses. 

2  Skylla  (not  to  be  confounded  with  the  sea-monster  of 
Messina)  was  the  daughter  of  Nisos,  king  of  Megaris,  who  had 
on  his  head  a  lock  of  purple  hair,  which  was  a  charm  that  pre- 
served his  life  from  all  danger.  And  the  Cretans  under  Minos 
attacked  Nisos,  and  besieged  him  in  his  city ;  and  Minos  won 
the  love  of  Skylla,  and  tempted  her  with  gifts,  and  she  cut  off 
her  father's  lock  of  hair,  and  so  he  perished.  But  Minos,  scorn- 
ing her  for  her  deed,  bound  her  by  the  feet  to  the  stern  of  his 
ship  and  drowned  her. 

'  Hermes,  i.e.,  in  his  oflfice  as  the  escort  of  the  souls  of  the 
dead  to  Hades. 

116 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

Strophe  III 

And  since  I  tell  the  tale  of  ruthless  woes.  .  .  ,  * 

Yet  now  'tis  not  the  time 
*To  tell  of  evil  marriage  which  this  house 

Doth  loathe  and  execrate, 
And  of  a  woman's  schemes  and  stratagems 

Against  a  warrior  chief, 
•Chief  whom  his  people  honoured  as  was  meet, 
I  give  my  praise  to  hearth  from  hot  broils  free. 

And  praise  that  woman's  mood 

That  dares  no  deed  of  ill. 

ANTrSTROPHE    III 

But  of  all  crimes  the  Lemnian  foremost  stands'        *'*' 

*And  the  Earth  mourns  that  woe 
As  worthy  of  all  loathing.     Yes,  this  guilt 

One  might  have  well  compared 
With  Lemnian  ills  ;  and  now  that  race  is  gone. 

To  lowest  shame  brought  down 
By  the  foul  guilt  the  Gods  abominate  : 
For  no  man  honours  what  the  Gods  condemn, 

Which  instance  of  all  these 

Do  I  not  rightly  urge  ? ' 

^  The  Chorus  apparently  is  represented  as  on  the  point  of 
completing  its  catalogue  of  crimes  committed  by  women  with 
the  story  of  Clytaemnestra's  guilt.  Something  leads  them  to 
check  themselves,  and  they  are  contented  with  a  dark  and  vague 
allusion. 

"  The  story  of  the  Lemnian  women  is  told  by  Herodotos  (vi. 
138).  They  rose  up  against  their  husbands  and  put  them  all  to 
death ;  and  the  deed  passed  into  a  proverb,  so  that  all  great 
crimes  were  spoken  of  as  Lenmian.  This  guilt  is  that  alluded 
to  in  Strophe  III. 

'  In  every  case  of  which  the  Chorus  had  spoken  guilt  had 
been  followed  by  retribution.  So,  it  is  implied,  it  will  be  in 
that  which  is  present  to  their  thoughts. 


"7 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

Strophe  IV 
And  now  the  sword  already  at  the  heart, 
Sharp-pointed,  strikes  a  blow  that  pierces  through, 

While  Vengeance  guides  the  hand  ;  '^^ 

For  lo  !  the  lawlessness 
Of  one  who  doth  transgress  all  lawlessly 
The  might  and  majesty  of  Zeus,  lies  not 

As  trampled  under  foot.^ 

Antistrophe  IV 
The  anvil-block  of  Vengeance  firm  is  set, 
And  Fate,  the  sword-smith,  hammers  on  the  bronze 

Beforehand  ;  and  the  child 

Is  brought  unto  his  home, 
And  in  due  time  the  debt  of  guilt  is  paid 
By  the  dark-souled  Erinnys,  famed  of  old, 

For  blood  of  former  days, 

Orestes  and  Pylades  enter,  disguised  as  Phokian  travel- 
lers, go  to  the  door  of  the  pa/ace,  and  knock  loudly 

Orest.  What  ho,  boy  !    hear  us   knocking  at   the 
gate.  «" 

Who  is  within,  boy  ?  who,  boy  ? — hear,  again  ; 
A  third  time  now  I  give  my  summons  here. 
If  good  ^gisthos'  house  be  hospitable. 

[^  Slave  opens  the  door 
Slave.   Hold,  hold  ;  I  hear.     What  stranger  comes, 

and  whence  ? 
Orest.  Tell  thou  thy  lords  who  over  this  house  rule, 
To  whom  I  come  and  tidings  new  report  ; 
And  make  good  speed,  for  now  the  dusky  car 
Of  night  comes  on  apace,  and  it  is  time 
For  travellers  in  hospitable  homes 

1  Sc. ,  is  not  forgotten  or  overlooked,  but  will  assuredly  meet 
with  its  due  punishment. 

ii8 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

To  cast  their  anchor  ;  and  let  some  one  come 

From  out  the  house  who  hath  authority  ;  "^ 

The  lady,  if  so  be  one  ruleth  here, 

But,  seemlier  far,  her  lord  ;  for  then  no  shame 

In  converse  makes  our  words  obscure  and  dim  ; 

But  man  with  man  gains  courage  to  speak  out, 

And  makes  his  mission  manifest  as  day. 

Enter  Clyt^mnestra 

Clyt^m.  If  ye  need  aught,  O  strangers,  speak;  for  here 
Is  all  that's  fitting  for  a  house  like  ours  ; 
Warm  baths,'  and  bed  that  giveth  rest  from  toil. 
And  presence  of  right  honest  faces  too  ; 
If  there  be  aught  that  needeth  counsel  more, 
That  is  men's  business,  and  to  them  we'll  tell  it.       "*' 

Orest.  A  Daulian  traveller,  from  Phokis  come. 
Am  I,  and  as  I  went  on  business  bound. 
My  baggage  with  me,  unto  Argos,  I 
(Just  as  I  set  forth,)  met  a  man  1  knew  not, 
Who  knew  not  me,  and  he  then,  having  asked 
My  way  and  told  me  his,  the  Phokian  Strophios 
(For  so  I  learnt  in  talking)  said  to  me, 
"  Since  thou  dost  go,  my  friend,  for  Argos  bound, 
In  any  case,  tell  those  who  gave  him  birth. 
Remembering  it  right  well,  Orestes'  death  ; 
See  thou  forget  it  not,  and  whether  plans  •^'* 

Prevail  to  fetch  him  home,  or  bury  him 
There  where  he  is,  a  stranger  evermore. 
Bear  back  the  message  as  thy  freight  for  us  ; 
For  now  the  ribbed  sides  of  an  urn  of  bronze 
The  ashes  hide  of  one  whom  men  have  wept." 
So  much  I  heard  and  now  have  told  ;  and  if 

1  So  in  Homer  (//.  xxii.  444),  the  warm  bath  is  prepared  by 
Andromache  for  Hector  on  his  return  from  the  battle  in  which 
be  fell. 

119 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

I  speak  to  kin  that  have  a  right  in  him 

I  know  not,  but  his  father  sure  should  know  it. 

Clytam.  Ah,  thou  hast  told  how  utterly  our  ruin 
Is  now  complete  !      O  Curse  of  this  our  house. 
Full  hard  to  wrestle  with  !     How  many  things,        "** 
Though  lying  out  of  reach,  thou  aimest  at, 
And  with  well-darted  arrows  from  afar 
Dost     bring    them    low !      And     now    thou     strip- 
pest  me. 
Most  wretched  one,  of  all  that  most  I  loved. 
A  lucky  throw  Orestes  now  was  making. 
Getting  his  feet  from  out  destruction's  slough  ; 
But  now  the  hope  of  high,  exulting  joy, 
•Which  this  house  had  as  healer,  he  scores  down 
As  present  in  this  fashion  that  we  see. 

Orest.  I  could  have  wished  to  come  to  prosperous 
hosts, 
As  known  and  welcomed  for  my  tidings  good  ; 
For  who  to  hosts  is  friendlier  than  a  guest  ?  "^ 

But  'twould  have  been  as  impious  in  my  thoughts 
Not  to  complete  this  matter  for  my  friends. 
By  promise  bound  and  pledged  as  guest  to  host. 

Clyttcm.  Thou  shalt  not  meet  with  less  than  thou 
deserv'st ; 
Nor  wilt  thou  be  to  this  house  less  a  friend  ; 
Another  would  have  brought  news  all  the  same  : 
But  since  'tis  time  that  strangers  who  have  made 
A  long  day's  journey  find  the  things  they  need, 
Lead  him  [to  her  Slave,  pointing  to  Orestes]  to  these 

our  hospitable  halls. 
And  these  his  fellow-travellers  and  servants  :  ^'* 

There  let  them  meet  with  what  befits  our  house. 
I  bid  thee  act  as  one  who  gives  account  ; 
And  we  unto  the  masters  of  our  house 


THE  LIBATION-POURERS 

Will  tell  this  news,  and  with  no  lack  of  friends 
Deliberate  of  this  calamity.^ 

{^Exeunt  Clyt^mnestra,  Orestes,  Pylades, 
an^  Attendants 
Chor.  Come  then,  handmaids  of  the  palace. 
When  shall  we  with  full-pitched  voices 
Show  our  feeling  for  Orestes  ? 
O  earth  revered  !  thou  height  revered,  too. 
Of  the  mound  piled  o'er  the  body 
Of  our  navy's  kingly  captain,  '"* 

Oh,  hear  us  now  ;  oh,  come  and  help  us  ; 
For  'tis  time  for  subtle  Suasion  ' 
To  go  with  them  to  the  conflict, 
And  that  Hermes  act  as  escort. 
He  who  dwells  in  earth's  deep  darkness, 
In  the  strife  where  swords  work  mischief. 

Enter  Kilissa 

Chor.  The  stranger  seems  about  to  work  some  ill ; 
And  here  I  see  Orestes'  nurse  in  tears. 
Where  then,  Kilissa,  art  thou  bound,  that  thus 
Thou  tread'st  the  palace-gates,  and  with  thee  comes 
Grief  as  a  fellow-traveller  unbidden  ?  ^*' 

Kills.  Our  mistress  bids  me  with  all  speed  to  call 
^gisthos  to  the  strangers,  that  he  come 
And  hear  more  clearly,  as  a  man  from  man, 
This  newly-brought  report.     Before  her  slaves. 
Under  set  eyes  of  melancholy  cast, 
She  hid  her  inner  chuckle  at  the  events 

1  As  in  her  speeches  in  the  Agamemnon  (w.  595,  884), 
Clytaemnestra's  words  here  also  are  full  of  significant  ambiguity. 
The  "  things  that  befit  the  house,"  the  proposed  conference  with 
iEgisthos,  her  separation  of  Orestes  from  his  companions,  are 
all  indications  of  suspicion  already  half  aroused.  The  last  three 
lines  were  probably  spoken  as  an  "  aside." 

2  Suasion  is  personified,  and  invoked  to  come  and  win 
Clytsemnestra  to  trust  herself  in  the  power  of  the  two  avengers. 

izi 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

That  have  been  brought  to  pass — too  well  for  her, 

But  for  this  house  and  hearth  most  miserably, — 

As  in  the  tale  the  strangers  clearly  told. 

He,  when  he  hears  and  learns  the  story's  gist, 

Will  joy,  I  trow,  in  heart.     Ah,  wretched  me  !         "" 

How  those  old  troubles,  of  all  sorts  made  up. 

Most  hard  to  bear,  in  Atreus'  palace-halls 

Have  made  my  heart  full  heavy  in  my  breast ! 

But  never  have  I  known  a  woe  like  this. 

For  other  ills  I  bore  full  patiently, 

But  as  for  dear  Orestes,  my  sweet  charge, 

Whom  from  his  mother  I  received  and  nursed  .... 

And  then  the  shrill  cries  rousing  me  o'  nights. 

And  many  and  unprofitable  toils 

For  me  who  bore  them.     For  one  needs  must  rear 

The  heedless  infant  like  an  animal,  ''"' 

(How  can  it  else  be  ?)  as  his  humour  serves. 

For  while  a  child  is  yet  in  swaddling  clothes, 

*It  speaketh  not,  if  either  hunger  comes. 

Or  passing  thirst,  or  lower  calls  of  need  ; 

And  children's  stomach  works  its  own  content. 

And  I,  though  I  foresaw  this,  call  to  mind 

How  I  was  cheated,  washing  swaddling  clothes, 

And  nurse  and  laundress  did  the  self-same  work. 

I  then  with  these  my  double  handicrafts, 

Brought  up  Orestes  for  his  father  dear ; 

And  now,  woe's  me!  I  learn  that  he  is  dead,  "" 

And  go  to  fetch  the  man  that  mars  this  house : 

And  gladly  will  he  hear  these  words  of  mine. 

Chor.  And  how  equipped  then  doth  she  bid  him 
come  ? 

Nurse.  *  How  ?  *  Speak  again  that  I  may  better  learn. 

Chor.   By  spearmen  followed,  or  himself  alone  ? 

Nurse.   She  bids  him  bring  his  guards  with  lances 
armed. 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

Chor.  Nay,  say  not  that  to  him  thy  lord  doth  hate.' 
But  bid  him  *  come  alone,'(that  so  he  hear 
Without  alarm,)  *  full  speed,  with  joyous  mind,' 
Since  *  secret  speech  with  messengers  goes  best.*        '** 

Nurse.  And  art  thou  of  good  cheer  at  this  my  tale  ? 

Chor.   But  what  if  Zeus  will  turn  the  tide  of  ill  ? 

Nurse.  How  so  ?     Orestes,  our  one  hope  is  gone. 

Chor.  Not  yet ;  a  sorry  seer  might  know  thus  much. 

Nurse.  What  say'st   thou?      Know'st   thou   aught 
besides  my  tale  ? 

Chor.  Go  tell  thy  message  ;  do  thine  errand  well: 
The  Gods  for  what  they  care  for,  care  enough. 

Nurse.  I  then  will  go,  complying  with  thy  words: 
May  all,  by  God's  gift,  end  most  happily ! 

Strophe  1 
Chor.  Now  to  my  prayer,  O  Father  of  the  Gods  ^" 
Of  high  Olympos,  Zeus, 
Grant  that  their  fortune  may  be  blest  indeed 
*Who  long  to  look  on  goodness  prospering  well, 

Yea,  with  full  right  and  truth 
I  speak  the  word — O  Zeus,  preserve  thou  him ! 

Strophe  II 
Yea,  Zeus,  set  him  whom  now  the  palace  holds. 

Set  him  above  his  foes ; 

For  if  thou  raise  him  high. 
Then  shalt  thou  have,  to  thy  heart's  full  content, 
Payment  of  two-fold,  three-fold  recompense. 

Antistrophe  I 
Know  that  the  son  of  one  who  loved  thee  well  "" 

*Like  colt  of  sire  bereaved, 
*Is  to  the  chariot  of  great  evils  yoked, 

1  An  alternative  rendering  is, 

"  Nay,  say  not  that  to  him  with  show  of  hate." 
i»3 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

*And  set  thy  limit  to  his  weary  path. 

*Ah,  would  that  one  might  see 
*His  panting  footsteps,  as  he  treads  his  course, 
•Keeping  due  measure  through  this  plain  of  ours ! 

Strophe  III 

And  ye  within  the  gate, 

Ye  Gods,  in  purpose  one. 

Who  dwell  in  shrines  enriched 

With  all  good  things,  come  ye. 

And  now  with  vengeance  fresh 

Atone  for  murder  foul 

Of  those  that  fell  long  since  :  "" 

•And  let  that  blood  of  old, 

•When  these  are  justly  slain. 

Breed  no  more  in  our  house. 

Mesode 
O  Thou^  that  dwellest  in  the  cavern  vast. 

Adorned  with  goodly  gifts, 
Grant  our  lord's  house  to  look  up  yet  once  more, 

And  that  it  now  may  glance. 

In  free  and  glorious  guise 

With  loving  kindly  eyes, 

From  out  its  veil  of  gloom. 

Let  Maia's  son''  too  give 

His  righteous  help,  and  waft 

Good  end  with  prosperous  gale. 

Antistrophe  III 

•And  things  that  now  are  hid,  *" 

He,  if  he  will,  will  bring 
As  to  the  daylight  clear ; 

*  Apollo  in  the  slirine  at  Delphi. 

2  Hermes  invoked  once  more,  as  at  once  the  patron  of  craft 
and  the  escort  of  the  dead. 

"4 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

But  when  it  pleases  him 
Dark,  hidden  words  to  speak, 
As  in  thick  night  he  bears 
Black  gloom  before  his  face ; ' 
Nor  is  he  in  the  day 
One  whit  more  manifest. 

Strophe  IV 
*And  then  our  treasured  store,^ 
*The  price  as  ransom  paid 
To  free  the  house  from  ill,  " 
A  woman's  gift  on  breath 
Of  favouring  breeze  onborne. 
We  then  with  clamorous  cry. 
To  sound  of  cithern  sweet. 
Will  in  the  city  pour  ; 
And  if  this  prospers  well, 
•My  gains,  yea  mine,  'twill  swell,  and  Ati  then 

From  those  I  love  stands  far.  "" 

Antistrophe  II 
But  thou,  take  courage,  when  the  time  is  come 

For  action,  and  cry  out. 

Shouting  thy  father's  name. 
When  she  shall  cry  aloud  the  name  of  "son," 
And  work  thou  out  a  woe  that  none  will  blame. 

Antistrophe  IV 
And  have  thou  in  thy  breast 
The  heart  that  Perseus  had,' 

1  Or  "  before  our  eyes." 

'  The  "  treasured  store  "  is  explained  by  the  words  that  follow 
to  mean  the  cry  of  exultation  which  the  (Jhorus  will  raise  when 
the  deed  of  vengeance  is  accomplished  ;  or,  possibly  (as  Mr. 
Paley  suggests),  the  funereal  wail  over  the  bodies  of  jEgisthos 
and  Clytaemnestra,  which  the  Chorus  would  raise  to  avert  the 
guilt  of  the  murder  from  Orestes. 

*  As  Perseus  could  only  overcome  the  Gorgon,  Medusa,  by 
"5 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

And  for  thy  friends  beneath, 
And  those  on  earth  who  dwell, 
Go  thou  and  work  the  deed 
Acceptable  to  them,  "" 

Of  bitter,  wrathful  mood, 
And  consummate  within 
*The  loathly  work  of  blood  ; 
[And  bidding  Vengeance  come  as  thine  ally,] 
Destroy  the  murderer. 

Enter  ^gisthos 

j^gis.  Not  without  summons  came  I,  but  by  word 
Of  courier  fetched,  and  learn  that  travellers  bring 
Their  tale  of  tidings  new,  in  no  wise  welcome. 
As  for  Orestes'  death,  with  it  to  charge 
The  house  would  be  a  burden  dropping  fear 
To  one  by  that  old  bloodshed  sorely  stung.^ 
How  shall  I  count  these  things  ?     As  clear  and  true  ? 
Or  are  they  vague  reports  of  woman's  fears,  ^^^ 

That  leap  up  high  and  die  away  to  nought  ? 
What  can'st  thou  say  that  will  my  mind  inform  ? 

Chr.  We  heard,  'tis  true ;  but  go  thou  in  and  ask 
Of  these  same  strangers.     Nought  is  found  in  words 
Of  messengers  like  asking,  man  from  man. 

^gis.  I  wish  to  see  and  probe  the  messenger. 
If  he  himself  were  present  at  the  death. 
Or  tells  it  hearing  of  a  vague  report  : 
They  shall  not  cheat  a  mind  with  eyes  wide  open. 

[Exit 

turning  away  his  eyes,  lest  looking  on  her  he  should  turn  to 
stone,  so  Orestes  was  to  avoid  meeting  his  mother's  glance,  lest 
that  should  unman  him  and  blunt  his  purpose. 

1  ^gisthos  had  suffered  enough,  he  says,  for  his  share  in 
Agamemnon's  death.  He  has  no  wish  that  fresh  odium  should 
fall  on  him,  as  being  implicated  also  in  the  death  of  Orestes,  of 
which  he  has  just  heard. 

126 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

Chor  Zeus !  Zeus !  what  words  shall  I  **" 

Now  speak,  whence  start  in  prayer, 

*Invoking  help  of  Gods  ? 

How  with  all  wish  for  good 

Shall  I  speak  fitting  words  ? 

For  now  the  sharp  sword-points, 

Red  with  the  blood  of  man, 

Will  either  work  for  aye 

The  utter  overthrow 

Of  Agamemnon's  house. 

Or,  kindling  fire  and  torch 

For  freedom  thus  achieved. 

Will  he  the  sceptre  wield 

Of  duly-ordered  sway. 

His  father's  pride  and  state:  *• 

Such  is  the  contest  he, 

Orestes,  godlike  one, 

Now  wages  all  alone. 

The  one  sole  combatant,* 

In  place  of  him  who  fell, 
Against  those  twain.     May  victory  be  his  ! 

Mgisth.  [groaning  u>if/<in]  Ah  !  ah  !     Woe's  me  ! 
Chr.  Hark  !   hark  !      How  goes  it  now  ? 

What  issue  has  been  wrought  within  the  house  f 
Let  us  hold  back  while  they  the  deed  are  doing. 
That  we  may  seem  as  guiltless  of  these  ills : 
For  surely  now  the  fight  has  reached  its  end. 

EnUr  Scrvint  from  the  chief  door 

Serv.  Alas !  alas  !  my  master  perishes !  **• 

Alas  !  alas !  a  third  time  yet  I  call. 
iEgisthos  is  no  more  ;  but  open  now 

1  The  word  (ephedras)  was  applied  technically  to  one  who  sat 
by  during  a  conflict  between  two  athletes,  prepared  to  challenge 
the  victor  to  a  fresh  encounter.     Orestes  is  such  a  combatant, 
taking  the  place  of  Agamemnon. 
1*7 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

With  all  your  speed,  and  loosen  ye  the  bolts 
That  bar  the  wom«n's  gates.     A  man's  full  strength 
Is  needed  ;  not  indeed  that  that  would  help 
A  man  already  slain. 

[Rus/?ej  to  the  gate  of  the  woman's  half  of  the 
palace 

Ho  there  !   I  say : 
I  speak  to  the  deaf;  to  those  that  sleep  I  utter 
In  vain  my  useless  cries.     And  where  is  she? 
Where's  Clytaemnestra  ?     What  doth  she  do  now  ? 
Her  neck  upon  the  razor's  edge  doth  seem 
To  fall,  down-stricken  by  a  vengeance  just.  *™ 

Enter  Clyt jeusestra  from  the  side  door 

Clytam.  What  means  all  this  ?  What  cry  is  this  thou 
mak'st  ? 

Serv.  I  say  the  dead  are  killing  one  who  lives. 

Clytam.  Ah,  me  !  I  see  the  drift  of  thy  dark  speech; 
By  guile  we  perish,  as  of  old  we  slew : 
Let  some  one  hand  at  once  axe  strong  to  slay ; 
Let's  see  if  we  are  conquered  or  can  conquer, 
For  to  that  point  of  evil  am  I  come. 

Enter  Orestes  ana  Vy'lkh^  from  the  other  door 

Orest.  'Tis  thou  I  seek :  he  there  has  had  enough. 
Clytam.  Ah  me !  my  loved  .^gisthos !     Art  thou 

dead? 
Orest.  Lov'st  thou  the  man  ?     Then  in  the  self- 
same tomb  **" 
Shalt  thou  now  lie,  nor  in  his  death  desert  him. 
Clytam.  [baring  her  bosom']  Hold,  boy  !      Respect 
this  breast  of  mine,  my  son,^ 

1  So,  in  Homer  (//.  xxii.  79),  Hecuba,  when  the  entreaties  o< 
Priam  had  been  in  vain,  makes  this  last  appeal— 
128 


THE   LiBATION-POURERg 

Whence  thou  full  oft,  asleep,  with  toothless  gums. 
Hast  sucked  the  milk  that  sweetly  fed  thy  life. 

Orest.  What  shall  I  do,  my  Pylades?     Shall  I 
Through  this  respect  forbear  to  slay  my  mother? 

P^l}  Where,  then,  are  Loxias'  other  oracles, 
The  Pythian  counsels,  and  the  fast-sworn  vows? 
Have  all  men  hostile  rather  than  the  Gods. 

Orest.   My  judgment  goes  with  thine  ;  thou  speak- 
est  well : 
[7*6  Clyt^mnestra]    Follow:    I   mean   to  slay   thee 
where  he  lies,  *** 

For  while  he  lived  thou  held'st  him  far  above 
My  father.     Sleep  thou  with  him  in  thy  death, 
Since  thou  lov'st  him,  and  whom  thou  should'st  love 
hatest. 
Clytam.  I  reared  thee,  and  would  fain  grow  old 

with  thee. 
Orest.  What !     Thou  live   with    me,  who   did'st 

slay  my  father  ? 
Clytitm.  Fate,  O  my  son,  must  share  the  blame  of 

that. 
Orest.  This  fatal  doom,  then,  it  is  Fate  that  sends. 
Clytarm.  Dost  thou  not  fear  a  parent's  curse,  my 

son? 
Orest.  Thou,  though  my  mother,  did'st  to  ill  chance 

cast  me. 
Ciyttem.  No  outcast  thou,  so  sent  to  house  allied.  •*' 
Orest.  I  was  sold  doubly,  though  of  free  sire  born. 
Clytam.  Where  is  the  price,  then,  that  I  got  for 
thee? 
"  Then  to  the  front  his  mother  rushed,  in  tears, 
Her  bosom  bare,  with  either  hand  her  breast 
Sustaining,  and  with  tears  addressed  him  thus, 
'  Hector,  my  son,  thy  mother's  breast  revere.'" 
J  The  reader  will  note  this  as  the  only  speech  put  into  the  lips 
of  Pylades,  though   he   is   present  as   accompanying   Orestes 
throughout  great  part  of  the  dram^ 

U  129  1 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

Orest.  I  shrink  for  shame  from  pressing  that  charge 

home. 
Clyt<em.  Nay,  tell  thy  father's  wantonness  as  well. 
Orest.   Blame  not  the  man  who  toils  when  thou'rt 

at  ease.' 
Clpam.   'Tis  hard,  my  son,  for  wives  to  miss  their 

husband. 
Orest.  The    husband's  toil   keeps  her   that  sits  at 

home.^ 
Clytam.  Thou  seem'st,  my  son,  about  to  slay  thy 

mother. 
Orest.  It  is  not  I  that  slay  thee,  but  thyself. 
Clyteem.  Take  heed,  beware  a  mother's  vengeful 

hounds.'  »'o 

Orest.  How,  slighting  this,  shall  I  escape  my  father's  f 
Clytam.  I  seem  in  life  to  wail  as  to  a  tomb.^ 
Orest.  My  father's  fate  ordains  this  doom  tor  thee. 
Clytam.  Ah  me!  the  snake  is  here  I  bare  and  nursed.* 
Orest.  An  o'er-true  prophet  was  that  dread  dream- 
born  ; 
Thou  slewest  one  thou  never  should'st  have  slain, 
Now  suffer  fate  should  never  have  been  thine. 

\Exit  Orestes,  leading  CLYXi^MNESTRA  into  the 
palace,  and Jollowed  by  Pylades 

Chor.  E'en  of  these  two  I  wail  the  twin  mischance  ; 
But  since  long  line  of  murder  culminates 

1  The  different  ethical  standard  applied  to  the  guilt  of  the 
husband  and  the  wife  was,  we  may  well  believe,  that  which  pre- 
vailed among  the  Athenians  generally.  It  has  only  too  close  a 
parallel  in  the  ballads  and  romances  of  our  own  early  literature, 

*  The  line  is  memorable  as  prophetic  of  the  whole  plot  of  the 
Eumenides 

*  The  phrase  "  wail  as  to  a  tomb"  seems  to  have  been  a  by- 
word for  fruitless  entreaty  and  lamentation. 

*  Clytaemnestra  sees  now  the  import  of  the  dream  referred  to 
in  vv.  518-522. 

130 


TH£   LIBATION-POURERS 

In  poor  Orestes,  this  we  yet  accept, 

That  he,  our  one  light,  fall  not  utterly.  "** 

Strophe  I 
Late  came  due  vengeance  on  the  sons  of  Priam, 

Just  forfeit  of  sore  woe  ; — 
Jjate  came  there  too  to  Agamemnon's  house. 

Twin  lions,  two-fold  Death.' 
The  exile  who  obeyed  the  Pythian  hest 

Hath  gained  his  full  desire. 
Sped  on  his  way  by  counsel  from  the  Gods. 

Strophe  II 
Shout  ye,  loud  shout  for  the  escape  from  ills 

Our  master's  house  has  seen. 
And  from  the  wasting  of  his  ancient  wealth 

By  that  defiled  pair,  •» 

111  fate  intolerable. 

Antistrophe  I 
And  so  on  one  who  loves  the  war  of  guile 

Revenge  came  subtle-souled  ; 
And  in  the  strife  of  hands  the  child  of  Zeus 

In  very  deed  gave  help, 
(We  mortals  call  her  Vengeance,  hitting  well 

The  meetest  name  for  her,) 
Breathing  destroying  wrath  against  her  foes. 

Strophe  III 
She,  she  it  is  whom  Loxias  summons  now,  "* 

Who  dwelleth  in  Parnassia's  cavern  vast, 

•Calling  on  her  who  still 

*Is  guileful  without  guile, 

1  The  words  must  be  left  in  their  obscurity.  Commentators 
have  conjectured  Orestes  and  Pylades,  or  the  deaths  of  Agamem- 
non and  Iphigeneia,  or  those  of  ^gisthos  and  Clytsemnestra, 
as  the  ' '  two  lions  "  spoken  ol.  The  first  seems  most  in  harmony 
with  the  context. 

131 


THE   LiBATiON-POUREftS 

•Halting  of  foot  and  tarrying  over-long  : 
The  will  of  Gods  is  strangely  overruled  ; 

It  may  not  help  the  vile  ;* 
*Tis  meet  to  adore  the  Power  that  rules  in  Heaven 

At  last  we  see  the  light. 

Antistrophe  II 
*Now  is  the  bit  that  curbed  the  slaves  ta'en  off:' 

Arise,  arise,  O  house  : 
Too  long,  too  long,  all  prostrate  on  the  ground 

Ye  have  been  used  to  lie. 


Antistrophe  III 
Quickly  all-working  Time  will  bring  a  change 
Across  the  threshold  of  the  palace  old, 
When  from  the  altar-hearth 
It  shall  drive  all  the  guilt. 
With  cleansing  rites  that  chase  away  our  woes ; 
And  Fortune's  throws  shall  fall  with  gladsome  cast, 

*Once  more  benign  to  see,^ 
For  new-come  strangers  settled  in  the  house  : 
At  last  we  see  the  light. 

Enter  Orestes,  Pylades,  and  followers  from  the  palace. 
His  attendants  bear  the  robe  in  which  Agamemnon 
had  been  murdered 

Orest.  See  ye  this  country's  tyrant  rulers  twain,  •*• 
My  father's  murderers,  wasters  of  his  house  ; 

1  The  Eternal  Justice  which  orders  all  things  is  mightier  than 
any  arbitrary  will,  such  as  men  attribute  to  the  Gods.  That 
will,  even  if  we  dare  to  think  of  it  as  changeable  or  evil,  is 
held  in  restraint.  It  cannot,  even  if  it  would,  protect  the  evi  - 
doers. 

'  The  Chorus  feel  that  they  have  been  too  long  silent ;  now, 
at  last,  they  can  speak.  As  slaves  dreading  punishment  they 
had  been  gagged  before  ;  now  the  gag  is  removed. 

*  Or,  ' '  Once  more  for  those  who  wail. " 
131 


THE  LIBATION-POURERS 

Stately  were  they,  seen  sitting  on  their  thrones, 

Friends  too  e'en  now,  to  argue  from  their  fate. 

Whose  oaths  are  kept  to  every  pledge  they  gave. 

Firmly  they  swore  that  they  would  slay  my  father, 

And  die  together.     Well  those  oaths  are  kept : 

And  ye  who  hear  these  ills,  behold  ye  now 

Their  foul  device,  as  bonds  for  my  poor  father. 

Handcuffs,  and  fetters  both  his  feet  to  bind. 

Come,  stretch  it  out,  and  standing  all  around,  '" 

Show  ye  the  snare  that  wrapt  him  o'er,  that  He 

May  see,  our  Father, — not  of  mine  I  speak, 

But  the  great  Sun  that  looks  on  all  we  do, — 

My  mother's  deeds,  defiled  and  impure. 

That  He  may  be  a  witness  in  my  cause, 

That  I  did  justly  bring  this  doom  to  pass 

Upon  my  mother.  .  .  .  Of  ^gisthos'  fate 

No  word  I  speak.     He  bears  the  penalty, 

As  runs  the  law,  of  an  adulterer's  guilt  ; 

But  she  who  planned  this  crime  against  a  man 

By  whom  she  knew  the  weight  of  children  borne 

Beneath  her  girdle,  once  a  burden  loved. 

But  now,  as  it  is  proved,  a  grievous  ill,  •*' 

What  seems  she  to  you  ?     Had  she  viper  been. 

Or  fell  myraena,'  she  with  touch  alone, 

*Rather  than  bite,  had  made  a  festering  sore 

With  that  bold  daring  of  unrighteous  mood. 

What  shall  I  call  it,  using  mildest  speech  ? 

A  wild  beast's  trap  ? — a  pall  that  wraps  a  bier, 

And  hides  a  dead  man's  feet  ? — A  net,  I  trow, 

A  snare,  a  robe  entangling,  one  might  call  it. 

Such  might  be  owned  by  one  to  plunder  trained, 

Practised  in  duping  travellers,  and  the  life 

'  It  is  not  clear  with  what  form  of  animal  life  the  myrcena  is 
to  be  identified.  The  idea  implied  is  that  of  some  sea  monster 
whose  touch  was  poisonous,  but  this  does  not  hold  good  of  the 
"lamprey." 

'33 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

That  robs  men  of  their  money  ;  with  this  trap         "* 
Destroying  many,  many  deeds  of  ill 
His  fevered  brain  might  hatch.      May  such  as  she 
Ne'er  share  my  dwelling  !     May  the  hand  of  God 
Far  rather  smite  me  that  I  childless  die  ! 

Chor.  \_looking  on  Agamemnon's  robeJ]  Ah  me  !  ah 
me  !   these  deeds  most  miserable  ! 
By  hateful  murder  thou  wast  done  to  death. 

Woe,  woe  is  me  ! 
And  evil  buds  and  blooms  for  him  that's  left. 

Orest.  Was  the  deed  hers  or  no  ?  Lo  !  this  same  robe 
Bears  witness  how  she  dyed  yEgisthos'  sword. 
And  the  blood-stain  helps  Time's  destroying  \^ork,    ^"^ 
Marring  full  many  a  tint  of  pattern  fair  : 
*Now  name  I  it,  now  as  eye-witness  wail  ;^ 
And  calling  on  this  robe  that  slew  my  father, 
Moan  for  all  done  and  suffered,  wail  my  race. 
Bearing  the  foul  stains  of  this  victory. 

Chor.  No  mortal  man  shall  live  a  life  unharmed, 
*Stout-hearted  and  rejoicing  evermore. 

Woe,  woe  is  me  ! 
One  trouble  vexes  now,  another  comes. 

Orest.  {wildly,  as  one  distraught.)   Nay,  know  ye — 
for  I  know  not  how  'twill  end  ;  "^" 

Like  chariot-driver  with  his  steeds  I'm  dragged 
Out  of  my  course  ;  for  passion's  moods  uncurbed 
Bear  me  their  victim  headlong.     At  my  heart 
Stands  terror  ready  or  to  sing  or  dance 
In  burst  of  frenzy.     While  my  reason  stays, 
I  tell  my  friends  here  that  I  slew  my  mother, 
Not  without  right,  my  father's  murderess, 
Accursed,  and  hated  of  the  Gods.     And  I 

1  As  the  text  stands,  Orestes  says  that  at  last  he  can  speak  ot 

the  murder  over  which  he  had  long  brooded  in  silence.    Another 

reading  makes  him  speak  of  the  oscillations  in  his  own  mind — 

"  Now  do  1  praise  myself,  now  wail  and  blame." 

'34 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

As  chiefest  spell  that  made  me  dare  this  deed 

Count  Loxias,  Pythian  prophet,  warning  me 

That  doing  this  I  should  be  free  from  blame,  '*"" 

But  slighting   ...  I  pass  o'er  the  penalty'  .  .  . 

For  none,  aim  as  he  will,  such  woes  will  hit. 

And  now  ye  see  me,  in  what  guise  equipped, 

\_Putting  on  the  suppliant's  wreaths  of  wool,  and 

taking  an  olive  branch  in  his  hand 
With  this  my  bough  and  chaplet  I  will  gain 
Earth's  central  shrine,  the  home  where  Loxias  dwells, 
And  the  bright  fire  that  is  as  deathless  known,* 
Seeking  to  'scape  this  guilt  of  kindred  blood; 
And  on  no  other  hearth,  so  Loxias  bade. 
May  I  seek  shelter.     And  I  charge  you  all, 
Ye  Argives,  bear  ye  witness  in  due  time  '"*' 

How  these  dark  deeds  of  wretched  ill  were  wrought : 
But  I,  a  wanderer,  exiled  from  my  land. 
Shall  live,  and  leaving  these  my  prayers  in  death,  .  .  . 
Chor.  Nay,  thou  hast  prospered  :  burden  not  thy  lips 
With  evil  speech,  nor  speak  ill-boding  words. 
When  thou  hast  freed  the  Argive  commonwealth, 
By  good  chance  lopping  those  two  serpents'  heads. 

\The  Erinnyes  are  seen  in  the  background,  visible 

to  Orestes  only,  in  black  robes,  and  with 

snakes  in  their  hair 
Orest.   Ah  !  ah  !  ye  handmaids  :  see,  like  Gorgons 
these. 
Dark-robed,  and  all  their  tresses  hang  entwined     , 
With  many  serpents.      I  can  bear  no  more. 

1  Comp.  w.  270-288. 

'  Delphi  was  to  the  Greek  (as  Jerusalem  was  to  mediaeval 
Christendom)  the  centre  at  once  of  his  religious  life  and  of  the 
material  earth.  Its  rock  was  the  o»i//4a/c/j  of  the  world.  Conse- 
crated widows  watched  over  the  sacred  and  perpetual  fire.  Once 
only  up  to  the  time  of  iEschylos,  when  the  Temple  itself  was 
desecrated  by  the  Persians,  had  it  ceased  to  bum. 

•35 


THE    LIBATION-POURERS 

Chor.    What  phantoms  vex  thee,   best  beloved  of 
sons  '<«° 

By  thy  dear  sire  ?     Hold,  fear  not,  victory's  thine. 

Or  est.  These  are  no  phantom  terrors  that  I  see : 
Full  clear  they  are  my  mother's  vengeful  hounds. 

Chor.  The  blood  fresh-shed  is  yet  upon  thy  hands^ 
And  thence  it  is  these  troubles  haunt  thy  soul. 

Orest.  O  King  Apollo  !  See,  they  swarm,  they  swarm, 
And  from  their  eyes  is  dropping  loathsome  blood. 

C/}or.  One  way  of  cleansing  is  there  ;  Loxias'  form 
Clasp  thou,  and  he  will  free  thee  from  these  ills. 

Orest.  These  forms  ye  see  not,  but  I  see  them  there  : 
They  drive  me  on,  and  I  can  bear  no  more.        \_Exit 

Chor.  Well,  may'st  thou  prosper ;  may  the  gracious 

God  '«^ 

Watch  o'er  and  guard  thee  with  a  chance  well  timed ! 

Here,  then,  upon  this  palace  of  our  kings 

A  third  storm  blows  again  ; 
The  blast  that  haunts  the  race  has  run  its  course. 
First  came  the  wretched  meal  of  children's  flesh ; 

Next  what  befell  our  king  : 
Slain  in  the  bath  was  he  who  ruled  our  host, 

Of  all  the  Achaeans  lord  ; 
And  now  a  third  has  come,  we  know  not  whence,^ 

To  save  ...  or  shall  I  say, 

To  work  a  doom  of  death  ? 
Where  will  it  end  ?     Where  will  it  cease  at  last, 

The  mighty  Ate  dread, 

Lulled  into  slumber  deep  ? 

1  Once  again  we  have  the  thought  of  the  third  cup  offered  as 
a  libation  to  Zeus  as  saviour  and  deliverer.  The  Chorus  asks 
whether  this  third  deed  of  blood  will  be  true  to  that  idea  and 
work  out  deliverance. 


136 


EUMENIDES 

DRAMATIS   PERSONiE 

Pythian  Priestess  Apollo  Athena 

Ghost  of  Clytcemnestra  Orestes  Hermes 

Chorus  of  the  Erinnyes    Athenian  Citizens,  Women,  and  Girls 

ARGUMENT. — The  Erinnyes  who  appeared  to  Orestes 
after  the  murder  of  Clytcemneztra  made  his  life  miserable, 
and  drove  him  without  rest  from  land  to  land.  A  nd  he, 
seeking  to  escape  them,  had  recourse  to  the  Orach  of 
Apollo  at  Delphi,  believing  that  he  who  had  sent  him  to 
do  the  work  of  vengeance  would  also  help  to  free  him  from 
this  wretchedness.  But  the  Erinnyes  followed  him  there 
also,  and  took  their  places  even  within  the  holy  shrine  of 
the  Oracle,  and  while  Orestes  knelt  on  the  central  hearth 
as  a  suppliant,  they  sat  upon  the  seats  there,  and  for  very 
weariness  fell  asleep. 


tyj 


EUMENIDES 

SciNE. — The  Outer  Court  of  the  Orach  at  Delphi.     Inner  thrine  in 
the  background,  ivlth  doors  leading  into  it 

Enter  the  Pythian  Priestess 

Pyth.  First,   with  this  prayer,  of  all  the    Gods  I 
honour 
The  primal  seeress  Earth,  and  Themis  next,^ 
Who  in  due  order  filled  her  mother's  place, 
(So  runs  the  tale,)  and  in  the  third  lot  named. 
With  her  goodwill  and  doing  wrong  to  none. 
Another  of  the  Titans'  offspring  sat. 
Earth's  daughter  Phoebe,  and  as  birthday  gift 
She  gives  it  up  to  Phoebos,^  and  he  takes 
His  name  from  Phoebe.     And  he,  leaving  then 
The  pooP  and  rocks  of  Delos,  having  steered 

1  The  succession  is,  in  part,  accordant  with  that  in  the 
Theogonia  of  Hesiod  (vv.  116-136),  but  the  special  characteristic 
of  the  ^schylean  form  of  the  legend  is  that  each  change  is  a 
step  in  a  due,  rightful  succession,  as  by  free  gift,  not  accomplished 
(as  in  other  narratives  of  the  same  transition)  by  violence  and 
wrong. 

2  Phoebe,  in  the  Theogonia,  marries  Coios,  and  becomes  the 
mother  of  Leto,  or  Latona,  and  so  the  grandmother  of  Apollo. 
The  "birthday  gift"  was  commonly  presented  on  the  eighth 
day  after  birth,  when  the  child  was  named.  The  oracle  is 
spoken  of  as  such  a  gift  to  Apollo,  as  bearing  the  name  of 
Phoebos. 

3  The  sacred  circular  pool  of  Delos  is  the  crater  of  an  extinct 
volcano.  There  Apollo  was  born,  and  thence  he  passed  through 
Attica  to  Parnassos,  to  take  possession  of  the  oracle,  according 
to  one  form  of  the  myth,  depriving  Themis  of  it  and  slaying  the 
dragon  Python  that  kept  guard  over  it. 

139 


EUMENIDES 

To  the  ship-traversed  shores  that  Pallas  owns,  " 

Came  to  this  land  and  to  Parnassos'  seat : 

And  with  great  reverence  they  escort  him  on, 

Hephasstos'  sons,  road-makers,^  turning  thus 

The  wilderness  to  land  no  longer  wild  ; 

And  when  he  comes  the  people  honour  him, 

And  Delphos  too,^  chief  pilot  of  this  land. 

And  him  Zeus  sets,  his  mind  with  skill  inspired, 

As  the  fourth  seer  upon  these  sacred  seats ; 

And  Loxias  is  his  father  Zeus's  prophet. 

These  Gods  in  prologue  of  my  prayer  I  worship  ;     *• 

Pallas  Pronaia^  too  claims  highest  praise ; 

The  Nymphs  adore  I  too  where  stands  the  rock 

Korykian,''  hollow,  loved  of  birds  and  haunt 

Of  Gods.     [And  Bromios*  also  claims  this  place. 

Nor  can  I  now  forget  it,  since  the  time 

When  he,  a  God,  with  help  of  Bacchants  warred. 

And  .planned  a  death  for  Pentheus,  like  a  hare's.^] 

1  The  people  of  Attica  are  thus  named  either  as  being 
mythically  descended  from  Erichthonios  the  son  of  Hephaestos, 
or  as  artificers,  who  own  him  as  their  father.  The  words  refer  to 
the  supposed  origin  of  the  Sacred  Road  from  Athens  to  Delphi, 
passing  through  Boeotia  and  Phokis.  When  the  Athenians 
sent  envoys  to  consult  the  oracle  they  were  preceded  by  men 
bearing  axes,  in  remembrance  of  the  original  pioneering  work 
which  had  been  done  for  Apollo.  The  first  work  of  active 
civilisation  w  as  thus  connected  with  the  worship  of  the  giver  of 
Light  and  Wisdom. 

2  Delphos,  the  hero  Efonymos  (name-giving)  of  Delphi,  was 
honoured  as  the  son  of  Poseidon.  Hence  the  Priestess  invokes 
the  latter  as  one  of  the  guardian  deities  of  the  shrine. 

•  Pronaia,  as  having  her  shrine  or  statue  in  front  of  the  temple 
of  Apollo. 

■*  The  Korykian  rock  in  Parnassos,  as  in  Soph.,  Antig., 
V.  1 128  ;  known  also  as  the  "Nymphs'  cavern." 

•  Bromios,  a  name  of  Dionysos,  embodying  the  special 
attributes  of  loud,  half-frenzied  revelry. 

•  In  the  legend  which  Euripides  follows,  Kithasron,  not  Par- 
nassos, is  the  scene  of  the  death  of  Pentheus.  He,  it  was  said, 
opposed  the  wild  or  frantic  worship  of  the  Pelasgic  Bacchos, 
concealed  himself  that  he  might  behold  the  mysteries  of  the 

140 


EUMENIDES 

Invoking  Pleistos'*  founts,  Poseidon's  might, 

And  Zeus  most  High,  supreme  Accomplisher, 

I  in  due  order  sit  upon  this  seat 

As  seeress,  and  I  pray  them  that  they  grant 

To  find  than  all  my  former  divinations  * 

One  better  still.      If  Hellas  pilgrims  sends, 

Let  them  approach  by  lot,  as  is  our  law  ; 

For  as  the  God  guides  I  give  oracles.^ 

\_S/ii  passes  through  the  door  to  the  adytum, 
and  after  a  pause  returns  trembling  and 
crouching  with  fear,  supporting   herself 
with  her   hands  against   the   walls    and 
columns.      The   door   remains    open,  and 
Orestes  and  the  Erinnyes  are  seen  in  the 
inner  sanctuary 
Dread  things  to  tell,  and  dread  for  eyes  to  see. 
Have  sent  me  back  again  from  Loxias'  shrine, 
*So  that  strength  fails,  nor  can  I  nimbly  move, 
But  run  with  help  of  hands,  not  speed  of  foot ; 
A  woman  old  and  terrified  is  nought, 
A  very  child.     Lo  !  into  yon  recess 
With  garlands  hung  I  go,  and  there  I  see 
Upon  the  central  stone'  a  God-loathed  man,  ** 

Moenads,  and  w(as  torn  to  pieces  by  his  mother  and  two  others, 
on  whose  eyes  the  God  had  cast  such  glamour  that  they  took 
him  for  a  wild  beast.  English  readers  may  be  referred  to  Dean 
Milman's  translation  of  the  Bacchanals  of  Euripides. 

1  Pleistos,  topographically,  a  river  flowing  through  the  vale  of 
Delphi,  mythically  the  father  of  the  nymphs  of  Korykos. 

^  At  one  time  the  Oracle  had  been  open  to  questioners  once 
in  the  year  only,  afterwards  once  a  month.  The  pilgrims,  after 
theyhad  made  their  offerings,  cast  lots,  and  the  doors  were  opened 
to  him  to  whom  the  lot  had  fallen.  Plutarch,  Qu.  Grcec,  p.  292. 

'  The  altar  of  the  adytum,  on  the  very  centre,  as  men  deemed, 
of  the  whole  earth.  Zeus,  it  was  said,  had  sent  forth  two  eagles 
at  the  same  moment ;  one  from  the  Ea»t  and  the  other  from  the 
West,  and  here  it  was  that  they  had  met.  The  stone  was  of 
white  marble,  and  the  two  eagles  were  sculptured  on  it.  Strabo. 
ix.  3. 

141 


EUMENIDES 

Sitting  as  suppliant,  and  with  hands  that  dripped 

Blood-drops,  and  holding  sword  but  newly  drawn. 

And  branch  of  olive  from  the  topmost  growth, 

With  amplest  tufts  of  white  wool  meetly  wreathed  ; 

For  this  I  will  say  clearly.^     And  a  troop 

Of  women  strange  to  look  at  sleepeth  there, 

Before  this  wanderer,  seated  on  their  stools ; 

Not  women  they,  but  Gorgons  *  I  must  call  them; 

Nor  yet  can  I  to  Gorgon  forms  compare  them: 

I  have  seen  painted  shapes  that  bear  away  ''° 

The  feast  of  Phineus.'     Wingless,  though,  are  these, 

And  swarth,  and  every  way  abominable. 

*They  snort  with  breath  that  none  may  dare  approach, 

And  from  their  eyes  a  loathsome  humour  pours. 

And  such  their  garb  as  neither  to  the  shrine 

1  The  priestess  dwells  upon  the  outward  tokens,  which  showed 
that'the  suppliant  came  as  one  whose  need  was  specially  urgent. 
On  the  ritual  of  supplication  generally  comp.  SuppL,  vv.  22, 
348,  641,  Soph.,  (Ed.  King,  v.  3  ;  CEd.  Col.,  vv.  469-489. 

3  ./Eschylos  apparently  follows  the  Theogonia  of  Ilesiod, 
(1.  278),  who  describes  the  Gorgons  as  three  in  number, 
daughters  of  Phorkys  and  Keto,  and  bearing  the  names  of 
Stheno,  Euryale,  and  Medusa.  The  last  enters  into  the  Perseus 
cycle  of  myths,  as  one  of  the  monsters  whom  he  conquered, 
with  a  face  once  beautiful,  but  with  her  hair  turned  to  serpents 
by  the  wrath  of  Athena,  and  so  dreadful  to  look  upon  that  those 
who  gazed  on  her  were  turned  to  stone.  When  Perseus  had 
slain  her,  Athena  placed  her  head  in  her  aegis,  and  thus  became 
the  terror  of  all  who  were  foes  to  herself  or  her  people.  A  wild 
legendary  account  of  them  meets  us  in  the  Prom.  Bound,  v.  812. 
As  works  of  art,  the  Gorgon  images  are  traceable  to  the  earliest 
or  Ky(?lopian  period. 

'  Here  also  we  have  a  reference  to  a  familiar  subject  of  early 
Greek  art,  probably  to  some  painting  familiar  to  an  Athenian 
audience.  The  name  of  Phineus  indicates  that  the  monstrous 
forms  spoken  of  are  those  of  the  Harpies,  birds  with  women's 
faces,  or  women  with  birds'  wings,  who  were  sent  to  vex  the 
blind  seer  for  his  cruelty  to  the  children  of  his  first  marriage. 
Comp.  Soph.  Antig ,  v.  973  In  the  yEneid  they  appear 
(iii.  325)  as  dwelling  in  the  Strophades,  and  harassing  .lEneas 
and  his  companions. 

142 


EUMENIDES 

Of  Gods  is  meet  to  bring,  nor  mortal  roof. 
Ne'er  have  I  seen  a  race  that  owns  this  tribe, 
Nor  is  there  land  can  boast  it  rears  such  brood, 
Unhurt  and  free  from  sorrow  for  its  pains. 
Henceforth  be  it  the  lot  of  Loxias,  * 

Our  mighty  lord,  himself  to  deal  with  them: 
True  prophet-healer  he,  and  portent-seer. 
And  for  all  others  cleanser  of  their  homes. 

Enter  Apollo /;owr  the  inner  adytum,  attended 

by  Hermes 

Apol.  [To  Orestes.]  Nay,  I'll  not  fail  thee,  but  as 

close  at  hand 

Will  guard  thee  to  the  end,  or  though  far  off, 

Will  not  prove  yielding  to  thine  adversaries  ; 

And  now  thou  see'st  these  fierce  ones  captive  ta'en, 

These  loathly  maidens  fallen  fast  in  sleep. 

Hoary  and  ancient  virgins  they,  with  whom 

Nor  God,  nor  man,  nor  beast,  holds  intercourse.        "' 

They  owe  their  birth  to  evils ;  for  they  dwell 

In  evil  darkness,  yea  in  Tartaros 

Beneath  the  earth,  and  are  the  hate  and  dread 

Of  all  mankind,  and  of  Olympian  Gods. 

Yet  fly  thou,  fly,  and  be  not  faint  of  heart ; 

For  they  will  chase  thee  over  mainland  wide. 

As  thou  dost  tread  the  soil  by  wanderers  tracked, 

And  o'er  the  ocean,  and  by  sea-girt  towns ; 

And  fail  thou  not  before  the  time,  as  brooding 

O'er  this  great  toil.     But  go  to  Pallas'  city. 

And  sit,  and  clasp  her  ancient  image'  there;  * 

And  there  with  judges  of  these  things,  and  word* 

Strong  to  appease,  will  we  a  means  devise 

To  free  thee  from  these  ills  for  evermore ; 

For  I  urged  thee  to  take  thy  mother's  life. 

^  The  old  image  of  Pallas,  carved  in  olive-wood,  as  distin- 
guished fiom  later  sculpture. 

H3 


EUMENIDES 

Orest.  Thou  know'st,  O  king  Apollo,  not  to  wrong  ; 
And  since  thou  know'st,  learn  also  not  to  slight : 
Thy  strength  gives  full  security  for  act. 

Apol.   Remember,  let  no  fear  o'ercome  thy  soul ; 
And  \To  Hermes]  thou,  my  brother,  of  one  father 

born, 
My  Hermes,  guard  him ;  true  to  that  thy  name, 
Be  thou  his  Guide,  true  shepherd  of  this  man, 
Who  comes  to  me  as  suppliant :  Zeus  himself  *' 

*Reveres  this  reverence  e'en  to  outcasts  due, 
When  it  to  mortals  comes  with  guidance  good.' 

\^Exit  Orestes  led h^  Hkrmes.  Apollo  retires 
within  the  adytum.  The  Ghost  of  Cly- 
t^mnestra  rises  Jrom  the  ground 

Clyttem.  What    ho  !      Sleep    on !     What   need    of 
sleepers  now  ? 
And  I  am  put  by  you  to  foul  disgrace 
Among  the  other  dead,  nor  fails  reproach 
Among  the  shades  that  I  a  murderess  am  ; 
And  so  in  shame  I  wander,  and  I  tell  you 
That  at  their  hands  I  bear  worst  form  of  blame. 
And  much  as  I  have  borne  from  nearest  kin,  '"^ 

Yet  not  one  God  is  stirred  to  wrath  for  me. 
Though  done  to  death  by  matricidal  hands. 
See  ye  these  heart-wounds,  whence  and  how  they  came? 
Yea,  when  it  sleeps,  the  mind  is  bright  with  eyes  ;^ 

1  The  early  code  of  hospitality  bound  the  host,  who  as  such 
had  once  received  a  guest  under  the  shelter  of  his  roof,  not  to 
desert  him,  even  though  he  might  discover  afterwards  that  he 
had  been  guilty  of  great  crimes,  but  to  escort  him  safely  to  the 
boundary  of  his  territory.  Thus  Apollo,  as  the  host  with  whom 
Orestes  had  taken  refuge,  sends  Hermes,  the  escort  God,  to 
guide  and  defend  him  on  his  way  to  Athens. 

'  The  thought  that  the  highest  wisdom  came  to  men  rather  in 
"  visions  of  the  night,  when  deep  sleep  falleth  on  men,"  than 
through  the  waking  senses,  which  we  have  already  met  with  in 
Agam.,  V.  173,  is  traceable  to  the  mysticism  of  Pythagoras, 
more  distinctly  perhaps  to  that  of  Epi  men  ides. 
144 


EUMENIDES 

But  in  the  day  it  is  man's  lot  to  lack 

All  true  discernment.     Many  a  gift  of  mine 

Have  ye  lapped  up,  libations  pure  from  wine,^ 

And  soothing  rites  that  shut  out  drunken  mirth ; 

And  I  dread  banquets  of  the  night  would  offer 

On  altar-hearth,  at  hour  no  God  might  share. 

And  lo  !   all  this  is  trampled  under  foot.  "• 

He  is  escaped,  and  flees,  like  fawn,  away ; 

And  even  from  the  midst  of  all  your  toils 

Has  nimbly  slipped,  and  draws  wide  mouth  at  you. 

Hear  ye  ;  for  I  have  spoken  for  my  life  : 

Give  heed,  ye  dark,  earth-dwelling  Goddesses, 

I,  Clytaemnestra's  phantom,  call  on  you. 

[The  Erinnyes  moan  in  their  sleep 
Moan  on,  the  man  is  gone,  and  flees  far  off: 
My  kindred  find  protectors ;  I  find  none. 

[Moan  as  before 
Too  sleep-oppressed  art  thou,  nor  pitiest  me : 
Orestes,  murderer  of  his  mother,  'scapes.  '*° 

[Noises  repeated 
Dost  snort?  Dost  drowse?  Wilt  thou  not  rise  and  speed? 
What  have  ye  ever  done  but  work  out  ill  ? 

[Noises  as  before 
Yea,  sleep  and  toil,  supreme  conspirators, 
Have  withered  up  the  dreaded  dragon's  strength. 
Ckor.  [starting  up  suddenly  with  a  yell.\  Seize  him, 

seize,  seize,  yea,  seize :  look  well  to  it. 
Clytam.  Thou,  phantom-like,*  dost  hunt  thy  prey, 
and  criest, 

1  Wine,  as  in  Soph.  (Ed.  Col.,  w.  loo,  481,  was  rigidly  ex- 
cluded from  the  cultus  of  the  Eumenides,  and  to  them  only  as 
daughters  of  Night  were  midnight  sacrifices  offered.  We  must 
not  lose  sight  of  the  thought  thus  implied,  that  Clytaemnestra 
had  herself  lived,  after  her  deed  of  guilt,  in  perpetual  terror  of 
the  Erinnyes,  seeking  to  soothe  them  by  her  sacrifices. 

2  The  common  rendering  "  in  a  dream  "  gives  a  sufficient 
meaning,  and  is,  of  course,  ter  able  enough.     But  there  is  a 

n  145  ^ 


EUMENIDES 

Like  hound  that  never  rests  from  care  of  toil. 

What  dost  thou  ?  {to  one  Erinnys.)     Rise  and  let  not 
toil  o'ercome  thee, 

Nor,  lulled  to  sleep,  lose  all  thy  sense  of  loss. 

Let   thy  soul    [to  another)  feel   the   pain  of  just   re- 
proach :  '* 

The  wise  of  Iieart  find  that  their  goad  and  spur. 

And  thou  {to  a  third),  breathe  on  him  with  thy  blood- 
flecked  breath, 

And  with  thy  vapour,  thy  maw's  fire,  consume  him  ; 

Chase  him,  and  wither  with  a  fresh  pursuit. 

Leader  oj the  Chor.   Wake, wake,  I  say;  wake  her,  as 
I  wake  thee. 

Dost  slumber?     Rise,  I  say,  and  shake  off  sleep. 

Let's  see  if  this  our  prelude  be  in  vain. 

Strophe  1 
Pah  !   pah  !   Oh  me  !  we  suffered,  O  my  friends.  .  .  . 
Yea,  many  mine  own  sufferings  undeserved.  .   .  . 
We  suffered  a  great  sorrow,  full  of  woe,  •  **• 

An  evil  hard  to  bear. 
Out  of  the  nets  he's  slipped,  our  prey  is  gone: 
O'ercome  by  sleep  I  have  my  quarry  lost. 

Antistrophe  I 
Ah,  son  of  Zeus,  a  very  robber  thou. 
Though  young,  thou  didst  old  Goddesses  ride  down,* 
Honouring  thy  suppliant,  godless  though  he  be. 
One  whom  his  parents  loathe  : 

force  in  the  repetition  of  the  same  word,  as  in  v.  ii6,  which  is 
thus  lost,  and  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  preserve.  Ihe 
Erinnyes,  thus  impotent  in  their  rage,  are  as  much  mere  dream- 
like spectres  as  is  the  ghost  of  Clyta;mnestra. 

1  Here,  as  throughout  ^schylos,  the  Olympian  divinities  are 
thought   of  as   new   comers,  thrusting  from  their  thrones  the 
whole  Chthonian  and  Titanic  dynasty,  Gods  of  the  conquering 
Hellenes  superseding  those  of  the  Pelasgi. 
146 


EUMENIDES 

Thou,  though  a  God,  a  matricide  hast  freed  : 
Of  which  of  these  acts  can  one  speak  as  just  ? 

Strophe  II 
Yea,  this  reproach  that  came  to  me  in  dreams  ^*° 

Smote  me,  as  charioteer 
Smites  with  a  goad  he  in  the  middle  grasps, 

Beneath  my  breast,  my  heart ; 
'Tis  ours  to  feel  the  keen,  the  o'er  keen  smart. 
As  by  the  public  scourger  fiercely  lashed. 

Antistrophe  II 
Such  are  the  doings  of  these  younger  Gods, 

Beyond  all  bounds  of  right 
Stretching  their  power.  .  .  .  A  clot  of  blood  besmeared 

Upon  the  base,  the  head,  .  .  . 
Earth's  central  shrine  itself  we  now  may  see  '*" 

Take  to  itself  pollution  terrible. 

Strophe  III 

And  thou,  a  seer,  with  guilt  that  stains  thy  hearth 
Hast  fouled  thy  shrine,  self-prompted,  self-impelled, 
Against  God's  laws  a  mortal  honouring. 

And  bringing  low  the  Fates 

Born  in  the  hoary  past. 

Antistrophe  III 
Me  he  may  vex,  but  shall  not  rescue  him ; 
Though  'neath  the  earth  he  flee,  he  is  not  freed 
For  he,  blood-stained,  shall  find  upon  his  head 
Another  after  me. 
Destroyer  foul  and  dread. 
[Apollo  advances  from  the  adytum  and  confronts 
them 
Apol.  Out,  our,  I  bid  you,  quickly  from  this  temple; 
Go  forth,  and  leave  this  shrine  oracular,  *^ 

«47 


EUMENIDES 

Lest,  smitten  with  a  serpent  winged  and  bright, 

Forth  darted  from  my  bow-string  golden-wrought. 

Thou  in  sore  pain  bring  up  dark  foam,  and  vomit 

The  clots  of  blood  thou  suck'dst  from  human  veins. 

This  is  no  house  where  ye  may  meetly  come, 

But  there  where  heads  upon  the  scaffold  lie,' 

And  eyes  are  gouged,  and  throats  of  men  are  cut, 

*And  mutilation  mars  the  bloom  of  youth. 

Where  men  are  maimed  and  stoned  to  death,  and  groan 

With  bitter  wailing,  'neath  the  spine  impaled  ;  '*" 

Hear  ye  what  feast  ye  love,  and  so  become 

Loathed  of  the  Gods  ?     Yes,  all  your  figure's  fashion 

Points  clearly  to  it.     Such  as  ye  should  dwell 

In  cave  of  lion  battening  upon  blood'. 

Nor  tarry  in  these  sacred  precincts  here. 

Working  defilement.     Go,  and  roam  afield 

Without  a  shepherd,  for  to  flock  like  this 

Not  one  of  all  the  Gods  is  friendly  found. 

Chor.  O  king  Apollo,  hear  us  in  our  turn : 
No  mere  accomplice  art  thou  of  these  things,  "" 

But  guilty  art  in  full  as  principal. 

Apol.  How  then  ?  Prolong  thy  speech  to  tell  me  this. 

Chor.  Thou  bad'st  this  stranger  be  a  matricide. 

Apol.  I  bade  him  to  avenge  his  sire.     Why  not  ? 

Chor.  Then  thou  did'st  welcome  here  the  blood  just 
shed. 

Apol.  I  bade  him  seek  this  shrine  as  suppliant. 

Chor.  Yet  us  who  were  his  escort  thou  revilest. 

Apol.  It  is  not  meet  that  ye  come  nigh  this  house. 

Chor.  Yet  is  this  self-same  task  appointed  us. 

1  The  accumulation  of  horrid  forms  of  cruel-y  had,  probably, 
a  special  significance  for  the  Athenians.  These  punishments 
belonged  to  their  enemies,  the  Persians,  not  to  the  Hellenic  race, 
and  the  poet's  purpose  was  to  rekindle  patriotic  feeling  by 
dwelling  on  their  barbarity,  as  in  Agant.,  v.  894,  he  points  in 
like  manner  to  their  haughtiness  and  luxury. 
148 


EUMENIDES 

Apol.  What  function's  this  ?     Boast  thou  of  nobler 
task  ?  «» 

Chor.  We  drive  from  home  the  murderers  of  their 
mothers. 

Apol.  What  ?     Those  who  kill  a  wife  that  slays  her 
spouse  ? 

Chor.  That  deed  brings  not  the  guilt  of  blood  of 
kin.' 

Apol.  *Truly  thou  mak'st  dishonoured,  and  as  nought, 
The  marriage-vows  of  Zeus  and  Hera  great ; 
And  by  this  reasoning  Kypris  too  is  shamed, 
From  whom  men  gain  the  ties  of  closest  love. 
For  still  to  man  and  woman  marriage  bed. 
Assigned  by  Fate  and  guided  by  the  Right, 
Is  more  than  any  oath.     If  thou  then  deal 
So  gently,  when  the  one  the  other  slays,  "" 

And  dost  not  even  look  on  them  with  wrath, 
I  say  thou  dost  not  justly  chase  Orestes ; 
For  thou,  in  the  one  case,  I  know,  dost  rage ; 
I'  the  other,  clearly  tak'st  it  easily  : 
The  Goddess  Pallas  shall  our  quarrel  judge. 

Chor.  That  man  I  ne'er  will  leave  for  evermore. 

Apol.  Chase  him  then,  chase,  and  gain  yet  more  of  toil. 

Chor.  Curtail  thou  not  my  functions  by  thy  speech. 

Apol.  Ne'er  by  my  choice  would  I  thy  functions  own. 

Chor.  True ;  great  thy  name  among  the  thrones  of 
Zeus :  "^ 

1  The  argument  of  the  Erinnyes  is,  to  some  extent,  like  that 
of  the  Antigone  of  Sophocles  {Antig.,  909-913),  and  the  wife  of 
Intaphernes  (Herod,  iii.  119).  The  tie  which  binds  the  hus- 
band lo  the  wife  is  less  sacred  than  that  between  the  mother  and 
the  son.  This,  therefore,  brings  on  the  slayer  the  guilt  of  blood 
of  kin,  while  murder  in  the  other  care  is  reduced  to  simple 
homicide.  Orestes  therefore  wa*  not  justified  in  perpetrating 
th«  greater  crime  a£  a  retribution  for  the  less.  Apollo,  in  meet- 
ing this  plea,  asserts  the  sacredness  of  the  marriage  bond  as 
standing  on  the  same  level  as  that  of  consanguinity. 

»49 


EUMENIDES 

But  I,  his  mother's  blood  constraining  me, 

Will  this  man  chase,  and  track  him  like  a  hound. 

Apol.  And  I  will  help  him  and  my  suppliant  free; 
For  dreadful  among  Gods  and  mortals  too 
The  suppliant's  curse,  should  I  abandon  him. 

\  Exeunt 
Scene  changes  to  Athens,  in  front  of  the  Temple  of 
Athena  Polias,  on  the  Acropolis  ' 

Enter  Orestes 

Orest.  [clasping  the  statue  of  the  Goddess.']  O  Queen 
Athena,  I  at  Loxias'  hest 
Am  come :  do  thou  receive  me  graciously, 
Sin-stained  though  I  have  been  :  no  guilt  of  blood 
Is  on  my  soul,  nor  is  my  hand  unclean, 
But  now  with  stain  toned  down  and  worn  away. 
In  other  homes  and  journeyings  among  men,^  *"' 

O'er  larKi  and  water  travelling  alike, 
Keeping  great  Loxias'  charge  oracular, 
I  come,  O  Goddess,  to  thy  shrine  and  statue: 
Here  will  I  stay  and  wait  the  trial's  issue. 

Enter  the  Erinnyes  in  pursuit 
Char.  Lo  !  here  are  clearest  traces  of  the  man: 

1  The  ideal  interval  of  time  between  the  two  parts  of  the 
drama  is  left  undefined,  but  it  would  seem  from  vv.  230,  274-6, 
and  429,  to  have  been  long  enough  to  have  allowed  of  many 
wanderings  to  sacred  places,  Orestes  does  not  go  straight  from 
Delphi  to  Athens.  He  appears  now,  not  as  before  dripping  and 
besmeared  with  blood,  but  with  hands  and  garments  purified. 

2  The  story  of  Adrastos  and  Croesos  in  Herod,  i.  35,  illus- 
trates the  gradual  purification  of  which  Orestes  speaks.  The 
penitent  who  has  the  stain  of  blood-guiltiness  upon  him  comes 
to  the  king,  and  the  king,  as  his  host,  performs  the  lustral  rites 
for  him.  Here  Orestes  urges  that  he  has  been  received  at  many 
homes,  and  gone  through  many  such  lustrations.  He  has  been 
cleansed  from  the  pollution  of  sm  :  what  he  now  seeks,  to  use 
the  terminology  of  a  later  system,  is  a  forensic  justification. 

150 


EUMENIDES 

Follow  thou  up  that  dumb  informer's'  hints; 
For  as  the  hound  pursues  a  wounded  fawn. 
So  by  red  blood  and  oozing  gore  track  we. 
My  lungs  are  panting  with  full  many  a  toil, 
Wearing    man's    strength    down.       Every    spot    of 
earth  ^*° 

Have  I  now  searched,  and  o'er  the  sea  in  flight 
Wingless  I  came  pursuing,  swift  as  ship; 
And  now  full  sure  he's  crouching  somewhere  here: 
The  smell  of  human  blood  wafts  joy  to  me. 
See,  see  again,  look  round  ye  every  way, 
Lest  he,  the  murderer,  slip  away  unscathed. 
He,  it  is  true,  in  full  security. 
Clasping  the  statue  of  the  deathless  goddess. 
Would  fain  now  take  his  trial  at  our  hands.  "*' 

This  may  not  be;  a  mother's  blood  out-poured 
(Pah  !  pah !)  can  never  be  raised  up  again. 
The  life-blood  shed  is  pourM  out  and  gone. 
But  thou  must  give  to  us  to  suck  the  blood 
Red  from  thy  living  members ;  yea,  from  thee. 
May  I  gain  meal  of  drink  undrinkable ! 
And,  having  dried  thee  up,  I'll  drag  thee  down 
Alive  to  bear  the  doom  of  matricide. 
There  thou  shalt  see  if  any  other  man 
Has  sinned  in  not  revering  God  or  guest, 
Or  parents  dear,  that  each  receiveth  there  *° 

The  recompense  of  sin  that  Vengeance  claims. 
For  Hades  is  a  mighty  arbiter 
Of  those  that  dwell  below,  and  with  a  mind 
1'hat  writes  true  record  all  man's  deeds  surveys. 

Orest.  I,  taught  by  troubles,  know  full  many  a  form 
Of  cleansing  rites, — to  speak,  when  that  is  meet, 

1  Sc,  the  scent  of  blood,  which,  though  no  longer  visible  to 
the  eyes  of  men,  still  lingers  round  him  and  is  perceptible  to  his 
pursuers. 


EUMENIDES 

And  when  'tis  not,  keep  silence,  and  in  this 

I  by  wise  teacher  was  enjoined  to  speak  ; 

For  the  blood  fails  and  fades  from  off  my  hands ; 

The  guilt  of  matricide  is  washed  away.  "" 

For  when  'twas  fresh,  it  then  was  all  dispelled, 

At  Phoebos'  shrine,  by  spells  of  slaughtered  swine. 

Long  would  the  story  be,  if  told  complete. 

Of  all  I  joined  in  harmless  fellowship. 

Time  waxing  old,  too,  cleanses  all  alike : 

And  now  with  pure  lips,  I  in  words  devout. 

Call  Athenaea,  whom  this  land  owns  queen. 

To  come  and  help  me  :  So  without  a  war 

Shall  she  gain  me,  my  land,  my  Argive  people,  ^^ 

Full  faithful  friends,  allies  for  evermore  ; ' 

But  whether  in  the  climes  of  Libyan  land, 

Hard  by  her  birth-stream's  foam,  Tritonian  named,' 

She  stands  upright,  or  sits  with  feet  enwrapt. 

Helping  her  friends,  or  o'er  Phlegraean  plains. 

Like  a  bold  chieftain,  she  keeps  watchful  guard,' 

Oh,  may  she  come !  (far  oft"  a  God  can  hear,) 

And  work  for  me  redemption  from  these  ills ! 

1  Here,  too,  we  trace  the  political  bearing  of  the  play.  In  the 
year  when  it  was  produced  (B.C.  458)  an  alliance  with  Argos  was 
the  favourite  measure  of  the  more  conservative  party  at  Athens. 

2  The  names  Triton  and  Tritonis,  wherever  found  in  classical 
geography  (Libya,  Crete,  Thessaly,  Boeotia),  are  always  con- 
nected with  the  legend  that  Athena  was  born  there.  Probably 
both  name  and  legend  were  carried  from  Greece  to  Libya,  and 
then  amalgamated  with  the  indigenous  local  worship  of  a  war- 
like goddess.  Hesiod  (iv.  180,  188)  connects  the  Libyan  lake 
with  the  legend  of  Jason  and  Argonauts. 

s  In  the  war  with  the  giants  fought  in  the  Phlegrsean  plains 
(the  volcanic  district  of  Campania)  Athena  had  helped  her  father 
Zeus  by  her  wise  counsel,  and  was  honoured  there  as  keeping  in 
check  ihe  destructive  Titanic  forces  which  had  been  so  subdued, 
burying  Enkelados,  e.j^.,  in  Sicily.  The  "friends"  are  her 
Libyan  worshippers.  The  passage  is  interesting,  as  showing 
the  extent  of  /Eschylos's  acquaintance  with  the  African  and 
Italian  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean. 

152 


EUMENIDES 

Chor.  Nay,  nor  Apollo,  nor  Athena's  might 
Can  save  thee  from  the  doom  of  perishing,  **" 

Outcast,  not  knowing  where  to  look  for  joy, 
The  bloodless  food  of  demons,  a  mere  shade. 
Wilt  thou  not  answer?     Scornest  thou  my  words, 
A  victim  reared  and  consecrate  to  me? 
Alive  thou'lt  feed  me,  not  at  altar  slain  ; 
And  thou  shalt  hear  our  hymn  as  spell  to  bind  thee. 

The  Erinnyes,  as  they  sing  the  ode  that  follows^  move  round 
and  round  in  solemn  and  weird  measure 

Come,  then,  let  us  form  our  chorus; 

Since  'tis  now  our  will  to  utter 

Melody  or  song  most  hateful, 

Telling  how  fur  band  assigneth 

All  the  lots  that  fall  to  mortals  ;  ** 

And  we  boast  that  we  are  righteous: 

Not  on  one  who  pure  hands  lifteth 

Falleth  from  us  any  anger. 

But  his  life  he  passeth  scatheless ; 

But  to  him  who  sins  like  this  man, 

And  his  blood-stained  hands  concealeth, 

Witnesses  of  those  who  perish. 

Coming  to  exact  blood-forfeit, 

We  appear  to  work  completeness.  **° 

Strophe  I 

O  mother  who  did'st  bear  me,  mother  Night, 
A  terror  of  the  living  and  the  dead, 

Hear  me,  oh  hear  ! 
The  son  of  Leto  puts  me  to  disgrace 

And  robs  me  of  my  spoil. 
This  crouching  victim  for  a  mother's  blood: 

And  over  him  as  slain, 

»S3 


EUMENIDES 

Wc  raise  this  chant  of  madness,  frenzy- working,' 

The  hymn  the  Erinnyes  love, 
A  spell  upon  the  soul,  a  lyreless  strain 

That  withers  up  men's  strength. 

Antistrophe  I 
This  lot  the  all-pervading  Destiny  "" 

Hath  spun  to  hold  its  ground  for  evermore, 

That  we  should  still  attend 
On  him  on  whom  there  rests  the  guilt  of  blood 

Of  kin  shed  causelessly. 
Till  earth  lie  o'er  him  ;  nor  shall  death  set  free. 

And  over  him  as  slain, 
We  raise  this  chant  of  madness,  frenzy-working. 

The  hymn  the  Erinnyes  love, 
A  spell  upon  the  soul,  a  lyreless  strain 

That  withers  up  men's  strength. 

Strophe  II 
Such  lot  was  then  assigned  us  at  our  birth : 
From  us  the  Undying  Ones  must  hold  aloof:  ^^'- 

Nor  is  there  one  who  shares 

The  banquet-meal  with  us; 
In  garments  white  I  have  nor  part  nor  lot ;' 
My  choice  was  made  for  overthrow  of  homes. 
Where  home-bred  slaughter  works  a  loved  one's  death  : 

Ha!   hunting  after  him, 

Strong  though  he  be,  'tis  ours 
*To  wear  the  newness  of  his  young  blood  down.' 

1  The  Choral  ode  here  is  brought  in  as  an  incantation.  This 
weapon  is  to  succeed  where  others  have  failed,  and  this  too,  the 
frenzy  which  seizes  the  soul  in  the  remembrance  of  its  past 
transgression,  is  soothed  and  bannned  by  Athena. 

2  White,  as  the  special  colour  of  festal  joy,  was  not  used  in 
the  worship  of  the  Erinnyes. 

»  Another  rendering  gives — 

•'To  dim  the  bright  hue  of  the  fresh-shed  blood." 
154 


EUMENIDES 

AVTISTROPHE   II 

*Since  'tis  our  work  another's  task  to  take,'  **" 

*'l'he  Gods  indeed  may  bar  the  iorce  of  prayers 

Men  offer  unto  me, 

But  may  not  clash  in  strife  ; 
For  Zeus  doth  cast  us  from  his  fellowship, 
"  Blood-dropping,  worthy  of  his  utmost  hate."  .  .  . 
For  leaping  down  as  from  the  topmost  height, 

I  on  my  victim  bring 

The  crushing  force  of  feet, 
Limbs  that  o'erthrow  e'en  those  that  swiftly  run, 

An  At&  hard  to  bear.  "* 

Strophe  III 
And  fame  of  men,  though  very  lofty  now 

Beneath  the  clear,  bright  sky. 
Below  the  earth  grows  dim  and  fades  away 
Before  the  attack  of  us,  the  black-robed  ones, 
And  these  our  dancings  wild, 
Which  all  men  loathe  and  hate. 

Antistrophe  III 
Falling  in  frenzied  guilt,  he  knows  it  not ; 

So  thick  the  blinding  cloud 
*That  o'er  him  floats  ;  and  Rumour  widely  spread 
With  many  a  sigh  reports  the  dreary  doom, 

1  The  thought  which  underhes  the  obscurity  of  a  corrupt 
passage  seems  to  be  that,  as  they  relieve  the  Gods  from  the  task 
of  being  avengers  of  blood,  all  that  the  Gods  on  their  side  can 
legitimately  do  against  them  is  to  render  powerless  the  prayers 
for  vengeance  offered  by  the  kindred  of  the  slain.     Their  very 
isolation,  as  Chthonian  deities,  from  the  Gods  of  Olympos  should 
protect  them  from  open  conflict.     But  an  alternative  rendering 
of  the  second  line  gives,  perhaps,  a  better  meaning — 
"And  by  the  prayers  men  offer  unto  me 
Work  ireedom  for  the  Gods  ; " 
i.e.,  by  being  the  appointed  receivers  of  such  prayers  for  ven- 
geance, they  leave  the  Gods  free  for  a  higher  and  serener  life. 
»5S 


EUMENIDES 

A  mist  that  o'er  the  house 
In  gathering  darlcness  broods. 

Strophe  IV 
Fixed  is  the  law,  no  lack  of  means  find  we  ;  ^^ 

We  work  out  all  our  will, 
We,  the  dread  Powers,  the  registrars  of  crime, 

Whom  mortals  fail  to  soothe. 
Fulfilling  tasks  dishonoured,  unrevered, 

Apart  from  all  the  Gods, 

*In  foul  and  sunless  gloom,^ 
Driving  o'er  rough  steep  road  both  those  that  sec. 

And  those  whose  eyes  are  dark. 

Antistrophe  IV 
What  mortal  man  then  doth  not  bow  in  awe 

And  fear  before  all  this. 
Hearing  from  me  the  destined  ordinance 

Assigned  me  by  the  Gods  ?  ^° 

This  task  of  mine  is  one  of  ancient  days  ; 

Nor  meet  I  here  with  scorn. 

Though  'neath  the  earth  I  dwell. 
And  live  there  in  the  darkness  thick  and  dense. 

Where  never  sunbeam  falls. 

Enter  Athena,  appearing  in  her  chariot,  and  then  alights 

Athena.   I  heard  far  off  the  cry  of  thine  entreaty 
E'en  from  Scamandros,'  claiming  there  mine  own, 

1  Perhaps,  "  With  torch  of  sunless  gloom." 

'  The  words  contain  an  allusion  to  the  dispute  between  Athens 
and  Mitjlene  in  the  time  of  Peisistratos,  as  to  the  possession  of 
Sigeion.  Aihena  asserts  that  it  had  been  given  to  her  by  the 
who'e  body  of  Achaeans  at  the  time  when  they  had  taken  Troia. 
Comp.  Herod,  vv.  9^),  95.  It  probably  entered  into  the  political 
purposes  of  the  play  to  excite  the  Atheniatis  to  a  war  in  this 
direction,  so  as  to  draw  them  off  from  the  constitutional  changes 
proposed  by  Pericles  and  Epliialtas. 
156 


EUMENIDES 

The  land  which  all  Achaia's  foremost  leaders, 

As  portion  chief  from  out  the  spoils  of  war. 

Gave  to  me,  trees  and  all,  for  evermore, 

A  special  gift  for  Theseus'  progeny.  ^*° 

Thence  came  I  plying  loot  that  never  tires. 

Flapping  my  aegis-folds,  no  need  of  wings. 

My  chariot  drawn  by  young  and  vigorous  steeds : 

And  seeing  this  new  presence  in  the  land, 

I  have  no  fear,  though  wonder  fills  mine  eyes ; 

Who,  pray,  are  ye  ?     To  all  of  you  I  speak. 

And  to  this  stranger  at  my  statue  suppliant. 

And  as  for  you,  like  none  of  Nature's  births. 

Nor  seen  by  Gods  among  the  Goddess-forms, 

Nor  yet  in  likeness  of  a  mortal  shape  ....  *° 

But  to  speak  ill  of  neighbours  blameless  found 

Is  far  from  just,  and  Right  holds  back  from  it. 

Chor.  Daughter  of  Zeus,  thou  shalt  learn  all  in  brief; 
Children  are  we  of  everlasting  Night ; 
[At  home,  beneath  the  earth,  they  call  us  Curses.] 
Athena.   Your  race   1    know,  and   whence  ye  take 

your  name. 
Chor.  Thou    shalt  soon    know    then    what    mine 

office  is. 
Athena.  Then   could   I   know,    if  ye  clear  speech 

would  speak. 
Chor.  We  from  thei.  home  drive  forth  all  murderers. 
Athena.  Where  doth  the  slayer  find   the  goal  of 
flight  ?  *» 

Chor.  Where  to  find  joy  in  nought  is  still  his  wont. 
Athena.  And  whirrest  thou  such  flight  on  this  man 

here  ? 
Chor.  Yea,  for   he    thought    it    meet    to  slay  his 

mother. 
Athena.  Was  there  no  other  power  whose  wrath  he 
feared  ? 

157 


EUMENIDES 

Chor.  What  impulse,  then,  should  prick  to  matri- 
cide ? 

Athena.  Two  sides  are  here,  and  I  but  half  have 
heard. 

Chor.  But  he  nor  takes  nor  tenders  us  an  oath.' 

Athena.  Thou  lov'st  the  show  of  Justice  more  than 
act. 

Chor.  How  so?  Inform  me.  Skill  thou  dost  not 
lack! 

Athena.  'Tis  not  by  oaths  a  cause  unjust  shall 
win.''  ■•'0 

Chor.  Search  out  the  cause,  then,  and  right  judg- 
ment judge. 

1  Here,  and  throughout  the  trial,  we  have  to  bear  in  mind  the 
technicalities  of  Athenian  judicial  procedure.  The  prosecutor, 
in  the  first  instance,  tendered  to  the  accused  an  oath  that  he  was 
not  guilty.  This  he  might  accept  or  refase.  In  the  latter  case, 
the  course  of  the  trial  was  at  least  stopped,  and  judgment  might 
be  recorded  against  him.  If  he  could  bring  himself  to  accept 
it,  he  was  acquitted  of  the  special  charge  of  which  he  was 
accused,  but  he  was  liable  to  a  prosecution  afterwards  for  that 
perjury.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  tendered  an  oath  affirming 
his  guilt  to  the  prosecutor,  he  placed  himself  in  his  hands. 
Orestes,  not  being  able  to  deny  the  fact,  will  not  declare  on 
oath  that  he  is  "  not  guilty,"  but  neither  will  he  place  himself  in 
the  power  of  his  accusers.  The  peculiarities  of  this  use  of 
oaths  were  :  (i)  That  they  were  taken  by  the  parties  to  the  suit, 
not  by  the  witnesses.  (2)  That  if  both  parties  agreed  to  that 
mode  of  decision,  the  oath  was  either  way  decisive.  An  allusion 
to  the  latter  practice  is  found  in  Heb.  vi.  16,  and  traces  of  it  are 
found  in  the  law-proceedings  of  Scotland.  If  either  party  refused, 
the  cause  had  to  be  tried  in  the  usual  way,  and  witnesses  were 
called. 

2  ./Eschylos  seems  here  to  attach  himself  to  the  principles  of 
those  who  were  seeking  to  reform  the  practice  described  in  the 
previous  note  as  being  at  once  cumbrous  and  unjust,  throwing 
its  weight  into  the  scale  of  the  least  scrupulous  conscience,  and 
to  urge  a  simpler,  more  straightforward  tiial.  The  same  objec- 
tion is  noticed  by  Aristotle  in  his  discussion  of  the  subject 
{Rket.  i.  15.) 

158 


EUMENIDES 

Athena.  And  would   ye   trust    to  me  to  end    the 
cause  ? ' 

Chor.   How  else  ?     Thy  worth,  and  worthy  stock 
we  honour. 

Athena.  What  dost  thou  wish,  O  stranger,  to  reply? 
Tell  tliou  thy  land,  thy  race,  thy  life's  strange  chance, 
And  then  ward  oft' this  censure  aimed  at  thee. 
Since  thou  sitt'st  trusting  in  thy  right,  and  hold'st 
This  mine  own  image,  near  mine  altar  hearth, 
A  suppliant,  like  Ixion,*  honourable. 
Answer  all  this  in  speech  intelligible.  **" 

Orest.  O    Queen    Athena,    from    thy    last    words 
starting, 
I  first  will  free  thee  from  a  weighty  care : 
I  am  not  now  defiled  :  no  curse  abides 
Upon  the  hand  that  on  thy  statue  rests ; 
And  I  will  give  thee  proof  full  strong  of  this. 
The  law  is  fixed  the  murderer  shall  be  dumb. 
Till  at  the  hand  of  one  who  frees  from  blood, 
The  purple  stream  from  yeanling  swine  run  o'er  him;* 
Long  since  at  other  houses  these  dread  rites* 

1  Athena  offers  herself,  not  as  arbitrator  or  sovereign  judge, 
but  as  presiding  over  the  court  of  jurors  whom  she  proceeds  to 
appoint. 

2  Ixion  apj)eared  in  the  mythical  history  of  Greece  ^s  the  pro- 
totyp>e  of  all  suppliants  for  purification.  When  he  had  murdered 
Deioneus,  Zeus  had  had  compassion  to  him,  received  him  as  a 
guest,  cleansed  him  from  his  guilt.  His  ingraii  ude  for  this 
service  was  the  special  guilt  of  his  attempted  outrage  upon  Hera. 
The  case  is  mentioned  again  in  v.  687. 

'  In  heathen,  as  in  Jewish  sacrifices,  the  blood  was  the  very 
instrument  of  purification.  It  was  sprinkled  or  poured  upon 
men,  and  they  became  clean.  But  this  could  not  be  done  by 
the  criminal  himself,  nor  by  any  chance  person.  The  service 
had  to  be  rendered  by  a  friend,  who  of  very  love  gave  himself 
to  this  mediatorial  work. 

*  In  the  legend  related  by  Pausanias  (Corinth,  c.  3),  Trcezen 
was  the  first  place  where  Orestes  was  thus  received,  and  in  his 
time  the  descendants  of  those  who  bad  thus  helped  held  periodical 
feasts  in  commemoration  of  it. 

159 


EUMENIDES 

We  have  gone  through,  slain  victims,  flowing  streams : 

This  care,  then,  I  can  speak  of  now  as  gone.  "* 

And  how  my  lineage  stands  thou  soon  shalt  know : 

An  Argive  1,  my  sire  well  known  to  thee. 

Chief  ruler  of  the  seamen,  Agamemnon, 

With  whom  thou  madest  Troi'a,  Ilion's  city, 

To  be  no  city.     He,  when  he  came  home. 

Died  without  honour  ;  and  my  dark-souled  mother 

Enwrapt  and  slew  him  with  her  broidered  toils, 

Which  bore  their  witness  of  the  murder  wrought 

There  in  the  bath  :  and  I,  on  my  return,  **° 

(Till  then  an  exile,)  did  my  mother  kill, 

(That  deed  I'll  not  deny,)  in  forfeit  due 

Of  blood  for  blood  of  father  best  beloved  ; 

And  Loxias,  too,  is  found  accomplice  here. 

Foretelling  woes  that  pricked  my  heart  to  act, 

If  I  did  nought  to  those  accomplices 

In  that  same  crime.     But  thou,  judge  thou  my  cause, 

If  what  I  did  were  right  or  wrong,  and  I, 

Whate'er  the  issue,  will  be  well  content. 

Athena.  Too  great  this  matter,  if  a  mortal  man 
Think  to  decide  it.     Nor  is't  meet  for  me 
To  judge  a  cause  of  murder  stirred  by  wrath  ;  *^ 

*And  all  the  more  since  thou  with  contrite  soul 
Hast  come  to  this  my  house  a  suppliant. 
Harmless  and  pure.     I  now,  in  spite  of  all. 
Take  thee  as  one  my  city  need  not  blame  ;' 
But  these  hold  office  that  forbids  dismissal, 
And  should  they  fail  of  victory  in  this  cause, 

1  The  course  which  Athena  takes  is  :  (i)  to  receive  Orestes  as 
a  settler  with  the  rights  which  attached  to  such  jsersons  on 
Athenian  soil,  not  a  criminal  fugitive  to  be  simply  surrendered  ; 
(2)  to  offer  to  the  Erinnyes,  as  being  too  important  to  be  put 
out  of  court,  a  fair  and  open  trial;  (3)  to  acknowledge  that  he 
and  they  are  equally  "blameless,"  ;is  far  as  she  is  concerned. 
She  has  no  complaint  to  make  of  them. 


EUMENIDES 

Hereafter  from  their  passionate  mood  will  poison* 

Fall  on  the  land,  disease  intolerable, 

And  lasting  for  all  time.     E'en  thus  it  stands  ; 

And  both  alike,  their  staying  or  dismissal, 

Are  unto  me  perplexing  and  disastrous. 

But  since  the  matter  thus  hath  come  on  mc, 

I  will  appoint  as  judges  of  this  murder 

Men  bound  by  oath,  a  law  for  evermore ;' 

And  ye,  call  ye  your  proofs  and  witnesses. 

Sworn  pledges  given  to  help  the  cause  of  right. 

And  I,  selecting  of  my  citizens 

Those  who  are  best,  will  come  again  that  they 

May  judge  this  .matter  truly,  taking  oaths 

To  utter  nought  against  the  law  of  right.  [Exit 

Strophe  I 
C/?or.  Now  will  there  be  an  outbreak  of  new  laws  : 
If  victory  shall  rest 
Upon  the  wrong  right  of  this  matricide,  *'*" 

This  deed  will  prompt  forthwith 
All  mortal  men  to  callous  recklessness. 

And  many  deaths,  I  trow, 
At  children's  hands  their  parents  now  await 
Through  all  the  time  to  come. 

Antistrophe  I 
For  since  no  wrath  on  evil  deeds  will  creep 

Henceforth  from  those  who  watch 
With  wild,  fierce  souls  the  evil  deeds  of  men, 

I  will  let  loose  all  crime ; 
•And  each  from  each  shall  seek  in  eager  quest,  *** 

•Speaking  of  neighbour's  ills, 

1  The  red  blight  of  vines  and  wheat  was  looVcd  on  as  caused 
by  drops  of  blood  which  the  Erinnyes  had  let  fall. 

2  Stress  is  laid  on  the  fact  that  the  judges  of  the  Areopagos. 
in  contrast  with  those  of  the  inferior  tribunes  of  Athens,  dis- 
charged their  duty  imder  the  sanction  of  an  oath. 

II  i6i  I. 


EUMENIDES 

•For  pduse  and  lull  of  woes  ;'  yet  wretched  mitt, 
He  speaks  of  cures  that  fail. 

Strophe  II 

Henceforth  let  none  call  us, 

When  smitten  by  mischance. 

Uttering  this  cry  of  prayer, 
"O  Justice,  and  O  ye,  Erinnyes'  thrones ! " 
Such  wail,  perchance,  a  father  then  shall  utter. 

Or  mother  newly  slain, 
Since,  fallen  low,  the  shrine  of  Justice  now 

Lies  prostrate  in  the  dust.  *° 

Antistrophe  II 

There  are  with  whom  'tis  well 

That  awe  should  still  abide. 

As  watchman  o'er  their  souls. 
Calm  wisdom  gained  by  sorrow  profits  much  : 
For  who  that  in  the  gladness  of  his  heart. 

Or  man  or  commonwealth. 
Has  nought  of  this,  would  bow  before  the  Right 

Humbly  as  heretofore  ?  ^ 

Strophe  III 
Praise  not  the  lawless  life,  **' 

Nor  that  which  owns  a  despot's  sovereignty  ; 
To  the  true  mean  in  all  God  gives  success,' 

1  Perhaps 

"  And  each  from  each  shall  learn,  as  he  predicts 
His  neighbour's  ills,  that  he 
Shares  in  the  same  and  harbours  them,  and  speaks, 
Poor  wretch,  of  cures  that  fail." 
'  At  a  more  advarced  period  of  human  thought,  Cicero  {Oral, 
fro  Roscio,  c.  24)  couid  point  to  the  "  thoughts  that  accuse  each 
other,"   the  horror  and   remorse   of  the  criminal,  as  the  true 
Erinnyes,    the    "  assiduae    domesticaeque   Furiee."      ^schylos 
clings  to  the  mythical  symbolism  as  indispensable  for  the  pre- 
servation of  the  truth  which  it  shadowed  forth. 

2  Dnce  again  we  have  the  poet  of  constitutional  conversatism 
keeping  the  via  media  between  Peisistratos  and  Pericies. 

i6z 


EUMENIDES 

And  with  far  other  mood, 

On  other  course  looks  on  ; 
And  I  will  say,  with  this  in  harmony, 
That  Pride  is  truly  child  of  Godlessncss ; 

While  from  the  soul's  true  health 
Comes  the  fair  fortune,  loved  of  all  mankind, 

And  aim  of  many  a  prayer. 

Antistrophe  III 

And  now,  I  say,  in  sum, 
Revere  the  altar  reared  to  Justice  high. 
Nor,  thine  eye  set  on  gain,  with  godless  foot 

Treat  it  contemptuously : 

For  wrath  shall  surely  come ; 
The  appointed  end  abideth  still  for  all. 
Therefore  let  each  be  found  full  honour  giving 

To  parents,  and  to  those. 
The  honoured  guests  that  gather  in  his  house, 

Let  him  due  reverence  show. 

Strophe  IV 
And  one  who  of  his  own  free  will  is  just. 

Not  by  enforced  constraint. 

He  shall  not  be  unblest, 
Nor  can  he  e'er  be  utterly  o'erthrown  ; 
But  he  that  dareth,  and  transgresseth  all. 

In  wild,  confused  deeds. 

Where  Justice  is  not  seen, 
I  say  that  he  perforce,  as  time  wears  on. 

Will  have  to  take  in  sail. 
When  trouble  makes  him  hers,  and  each  yard-arm 

Is  shivered  by  the  blast. 

Antistrophe  IV 
And  then  he  calls  on  those  who  hear  him  not. 
And  struggles  all  in  vain, 
163 


EUMENIDES 

In  the  fierce  waves'  mid-whirl ; 
And  God  still  mocks  the  man  of  fevered  mood,        '*" 
When  he  sees  him  who  bragged  it  ne'er  would  come, 

With  woes  inextricable 

Worn  out,  and  failing  still 
To  weather  round  the  perilous  promontory ; 

And  for  all  time  to  come, 
Wrecking  on  reefs  of  Vengeance  bliss  once  high, 

He  dies  unwept,  unseen. 

The  scene  changes  to  the  Areopagos.      Enter  Atkena, 
followed  by  Herald  and  twelve  Athenian  citizens 

Athena.  Cry  out,  O  herald  ;  the  great  host  hold  back  ; 
Then  let  Tyrrhenian  trumpet,^  piercing  heaven. 
Filled  with  man's  breath,  to  all  that  host  send  forth 
The  full-toned  notes,  for  while  this  council-hall        "" 
Is  filling,  it  is  meet  men  hold  their  peace. 

[  Herald  blows  his  trumpet 
And  let  the  city  for  all  time  to  come 
Learn  these  my  laws,  and  this  accused  one  too, 
That  so  the  trial  may  be  rightly  judged.* 

[^As  Athena  speaks,  Apollo  enters 

Chor.  O  King  Apollo,  rule  thou  o'er  thine  own  ; 
But  what  hast  thou  to  do  with  this  our  cause  ? 

Apol.   I  am  come  both  as  witness, — for  this  man 
Is  here  as  suppliant,  that  on  my  hearth  sat. 
And  I  his  cleanser  am  from  guilt  of  blood, — 
And  to  plead  for  him  as  his  advocate  : 
I  bear  the  blame  of  that  his  mother's  death. 

1  The  Tyrrhenian  trumpet,  with  its  bent  and  twisted  tube, 
retained  its  proverbial  pre-eminence  from  the  days  of  .(Eschylos 
and  Sophocles  (Aias,  17)  to  those  of  Virgil  {y£n.,  viii.  526). 

2  The  fondness  of  the  Athenians  for  litigation,  and  the  large 
share  whi<  h  every  citizen  took  in  the  administration  of  justice, 
would  probably  make  the  scene  which  follows,  with  all  its 
technicalities,  the  part  of  the  play  into  which  they  would  most 
enter. 

164 


EUMENIDES 

But  thou,  whoe'er  dost  act  as  president, 
Open  the  suit  in  way  well  known  to  thee.'  ""* 

Athena.  \to  the  Erinnyes.']  'Tis  yours  to  speak  ;  I  thus 
the  pleadings  open, 
For  so  the  accuser,  speaking  first,  shall  have. 
Of  right,  the  task  to  state  the  case  to  us. 

Chor.  Many  are  we,  but  briefly  will  we  speak  ; 
And  answer  thou  [to  Orestes],  in  thy  turn,  word  for 

word  ; 
First  tell  us  this,  did'st  thou  thy  mother  slay? 
Orest.  I  slew  her :  of  that  fact  is  no  denial. 
Chor.  Here,  then,  is  one  of  our  three  bouts*  decided. 
Orest.  Thou  boastest  this  o'er  one  not  yet  thrown 
down.  ^ 

Chor.  This  thou  at  least  must  tell,  how  thou  did'st 

slay  her. 
Orest.  E'en  so ;  her  throat  I  cut  with  hand  sword- 
armed. 
Chor.  By  whom  persuaded,  and  with  whose  advice  ? 
Orest.  [Po/Vz/zV/j-Zo  Apollo.]  ByHisdivinecommand: 

He  bears  me  witness. 
Chor.  The  prophet-God  prompt  thee  to  matricide  ! 
Orest.  Yea,  and  till  now  I  do  not  blame  my  lot. 
Chor.   Nay,  when  found  guilty,  soon  thou'lt  change 

thy  tone. 
Orest.   I  trust  my  sire  will  send  help  from  the  tomb. 
Chor.  Trust  in   the  dead,  thou   murderer  of  thy 
mother ! 

1  It  was  necessary  that  some  one,  sitting  as  President  oi 
the  Courts  should  formally  open  the  pleadings,  by  calling  on 
this  side  or  that  to  begin.  Here  Athena  takes  that  office  on 
herself,  and  calls  on  the  Erinnyes. 

2  The  technicalities  of  the  Areopagos  are  still  kept  up.  The 
three  points  on  which  the  Erinnyes,  as  prosecutors,  lay  stress 
are  :  (i)  the  fact  of  the  murder  ;  (a)  the  mode  ;  (3)  the  motive. 
"Three  bouts,"  as  referring  to  the  rule  of  the  arena,  that  three 
struggles  for  the  mastery  should  be  decisive. 

165 


EUMENIDES 

Orest.  Yes ;  for  in  her  two  great  pollutions  met.    '™ 

Chor.  How  so,  I  pray?     Inform  the  court  of  this, 

Orest.   She  both  her  husband  and  my  father  slew. 

Chor.  Nay  then,  thou  liv'st,  and  she  gets  quit  by 
death. 

Orest.  Why,  while  she  lived,  did'st  thou  to  chase  her 
fail  ? 

Chor.  The  man  she  slew  was  not  one  of  blood  with  her.^ 

Orest.  And  does  my  mother's  blood  then  flow  in  me  ? 

Chr.   E'en  so  ;  how  else,  O  murderer,  reared  she  thee 
Within  her  womb?     Disown'st  thou  mother's  blood? 

Orest.  [Turning  to  Apollo.]  Now  bear  thou  witness, 
and  declare  to  me, 
Apollo,  if  I  slew  her  righteously  ;  •** 

For  I  the  deed,  as  fact,  will  not  deny. 
But  whether  right  or  wrong  this  deed  of  blood 
Seem  in  thine  eyes,  judge  thou  that  these  may  hear. 

Jpol.  I  will  to  you,  Athena's  solemn  council, 
Speak,  truly,  and  as  prophet  will  not  lie. 
Ne'er  have  I  spoken  on  prophetic  throne, 
Of  man,  or  woman,  or  of  commonwealth, 
But  as  great  Zeus,  Olympian  Father,  bade ; 
And  that  ye  learn  how  muv_h  this  plea  avails, 
I  bid  you  [turning  to  the  court  of  jurymen\  follow  out 
my  Father's  will ;  ^^ 

No  oath  can  be  of  greater  might  than  Zeus.* 

1  The  pleas  put  in  by  the  Erinnyesas  prosecutors  are  :  (i)  That 
Clytasmnestra  had  been  adequately  punished  by  her  death, 
while  Orestes  was  still  alive  ;  and  (2)  when  asked  why  they  had 
not  intervened  to  bring  about  that  punishment,  that  the  relation- 
ship between  husband  and  wife  was  less  closa  than  that  between 
mother  and  son.  They  drew,  in  other  words,  a  distinction 
between  consanguinity  and  affinity,  and  upon  this  the  rest  of  the 
discussion  turns.  Orestes,  and  Apollo  as  his  counsel,  on  the 
other  hand,  meet  this  with  the  rejoinder,  that  there  is  no  blood- 
relationship  between  the  mother  nnd  her  offspring. 

2  Sc.  Their  oath  to  give  a  verdict  accoiding  to  the  evidence 

i()6 


EUMENIDES 

Chor.  Zeus,  then,  thou  say'st,  did  prompt  the  oracle 
That  this  Orestes  here,  his  father's  blood 
Avenging,  should  his  mother's  rights  o'erthrow  ? 

Jpol.  'Tis  a  quite  other  thing  for  hero-chief, 
Bearing  the  honour  of  Zeus-given  sceptre, 
To  die,  and  at  a  woman's  hands,  not  e'en 
By  swift,  strong  dart,  from  Amazonian  bow,' 
But  as  thou,  Pallas,  now  shalt  hear,  and  those 
Who  sit  to  give  their  judgment  in  this  cause ;  ** 

For  when  he  came  successful  from  the  trade 
Of  war  with  largest  gains,  receiving  him 
With  kindly  words  of  praise,  she  spread  a  robe 
Over  the  bath,  yes,  even  o'er  its  edge. 
As  he  was  bathing,  and  entangling  him 
In  endless  folds  of  cloak  of  cunning  work, 
She  strikes  her  lord  down.     Thus  the  tale  is  told 
Of  her  lord's  murder,  chief  whom  all  did  honour, 
The  ships'  great  captain.     So  I  tell  it  out. 
E'en  as  it  was,  to  thrill  the  people's  hearts, 
Who  now  are  set  to  give  their  verdict  here. 

C/:or.  Zeus  then  a  father's  death,  as  thou  dost  say,  ''° 
Of  highest  moment  holds,  yet  He  himself 
Bound  fast  in  chains  his  aged  father,  Cronos  ;* 

must  yield  to  the  higher  obligation  of  following  the  Divine  will 
rather  than  the  letter  of  the  law. 

1  To  have  died  in  health  by  the  arrows  of  a  woman-warrior 
might  have  been  borne.  To  be  slain  by  a  wife  treacherously  in 
his  bath  was  to  endure  a  far  worse  outrage. 

2  In  this  new  argument,  and  the  answer  to  it,  we  may  trace, 
as  in  the  Prometheus  and  the  Agamemnon,  the  struggles  of  the 
questioning  intellect  against  the  more  startling  elements  of  the 
popular  religious  belief.  Zeus  is  worshipped  as  the  supren-e 
Lord,  yet  His  dominion  seems  foundi-d  on  might  as  opposed  to 
goodness,  on  the  unrighteous  expulsion  of  another.  Here,  in 
Apollo's  answer,  there  is  a  glimmer  of  a  possible  reco  ciliatiun. 
The  old  and  the  ne.v,  the  sovereignty  of  Cronos  and  that  o( 
Zeus  may  be  reconciled,  and  one  supreme  God  be  "all  in  all," 


EUMENIDES 

Are  not  thy  words  at  variance  with  the  facts  ? 

I  call  on  you  [to  the  Court]  to  witness  what  he  says. 

j^po/.  O  hateful  creatures,  loathed  of  the  Gods, 
Those  chains  may  be  undone,  that  wrong  be  cured, 
And  many  a  means  of  rescue  may  be  found  : 
But  when  the  dust  has  drunk  the  blood  of  men, 
No  resurrection  comes  for  one  that's  dead  : 
No  charm  for  these  things  hath  my  sire  devised  ; 
But  all  things  else  he  turneth  up  or  down,  ^^ 

And  orders  without  toil  or  weariness.' 

CSor.  Take  heed  how  thou  help  this  man  to  escape  ; 
Shall  he  who  stained  earth  with  his  mother's  blood 
Then  dwell  in  Argos  in  his  father's  house  ? 
What  public  altars  can  he  visit  now  ? 
What  lustral  rite  of  clan  or  tribe  admit  him  ?^ 

^f>o/.  This  too  J'U  say  ;  judge  thou  if  I  speak  right : 
The  mother  is  not  parent  of  the  child 
That  is  called  hers,  but  nurse  of  embryo  sown. 
He  that  begets  is  parent :'  she,  as  stranger,  "^ 

For  stranger  rears  the  scion,  if  God  mar  not ; 
And  of  this  fact  I'll  give  thee  proof  full  sure. 
A  father  there  may  be  without  a  mother : 
Here  nigh  at  hand,  as  witness,  is  the  child 
Of  high  Olympian  Zeus,  for  she  not  e'en 
Was  nurtured  in  the  darkness  of  the  womb,* 

1  Comp.  the  thought  and  language  of  the  Suppliants,  v.  93. 

2  The  last  argument  is,  that  the  acquittal  can  be,  at  the  best, 
parti  il  only,  not  complete ;  formal,  not  real.  There  would 
remain  for  ever  the  pollution  which  would  exclude  Orestes  from 
the  Hhratria,  the  clan-brotherhood,  by  which,  as  by  a  sacra- 
mental bond,  all  the  members  were  held  together. 

3  The  question  seems  to  have  been  one  of  those  which  occupied 
men's  minds  in  their  first  gropings  towards  the  mysteries  of 
man's  physical  life,  and  both  popular  metaphors  and  primary 
impressions  were  in  favour  of  the  hypothesis  here  maintained. 
Euiipides  (Orest. ,  v.  534)  puts  the  same  argument  into  the  mouth 
of  Orestes. 

*  The  story  of  Athena's  birth,  full-grown,  from  the  head  of 
168 


EUMENIDES 

Yet  such  a  scion  may  no  God  beget. 

I,  both  in  all  else,  Pallas,  as  I  know, 

Will  make  thy  city  and  thy  people  great, 

And  now  this  man  have  sent  as  suppliant 

Upon  thy  hearth,  that  he  may  faithful  prove  '•' 

Now  and  for  ever,  and  that  thou,  O  Goddess, 

May'st  gain  him  as  ally,  and  all  his  race, 

And  that  it  last  as  law  for  evermore. 

That  these  men's  progeny  our  treaties  own. 

Athena.  [To  jurors.]  I  bid  you  give,  according  to  your 
conscience, 
A  verdict  just ;  enough  has  now  been  said. 

Chr.  We  have  shot  forth  our  every  weapon  now : 
I  wait  to  hear  what  way  the  strife  is  judged. 

Athena.  [ToChorus.'\  HowshallIorderthis,unblamed 
by  you  ? 

Chor.  [To  jurors.]  Ye  heard  what  things  ye  heard, 
and  in  your  hearts 
Reverence  your  oaths,  and  give  your  votes,  O  friends.  *^ 

Athena.  Hear  ye  my  order,  O  ye  Attic  people, 
In  act  to  judge  your  first  great  murder-cause. 
And  henceforth  shall  the  host  of  ^Egeus'  race* 
For  ever  own  this  council-hall  of  judges  : 
And  for  this  Ares'  hill,  the  Amazons'  seat 
And  camp  when  they,  enraged  with  Theseus,  came' 

Zeus,  is  next  referred  (o  as  the  leading  case  hearing  on  the  point 
at  issue. 

^  Here,  of  course,  the  political  interest  of  the  whole  dnima 
reached  its  highest  point.  What  seems  comparatively  flat  to  us 
must,  to  the  thousands  who  sat  as  spectators,  have  been  fraught 
with  the  most  intense  excitement,  showing  itself  in  shouts  ot 
applause,  or  audible  tokens  of  clamorous  dissent.  The  rivalry 
of  Whigs  and  Tories  over  Addison's  Cato,  the  sensation  pro- 
duced in  times  of  Papal  aggression  by  the  king's  answer  to 
Pandulph  in  King  John,  presents  analogies  which  are  worth 
remembering. 

'-  I'lie  story  ran  that  the  tribe  of  women  warriors  from  the 
Caucasos,  or  the  Thermodon,  known  by  this  name,  had  invaded 
169 


EUMENIDES  \ 

In  hostile  march,  and  built  as  counterwork 

This  citadel  high-reared,  a  city  new. 

And  sacrificed  to  Ares,  whence  'tis  named 

As  Ares'  hill  and  fortress :  in  this,  I  say,  •** 

The  reverent  awe  its  citizens  shall  own. 

And  fear,  awe's  kindred,  shall  restrain  from  wrong 

By  day,  nor  less  by  night,  so  long  as  they, 

The  burghers,  alter  not  themselves  their  laws : 

But  if  with  drain  of  filth  and  tainted  soil 

Clear  river  thou  pollute,  no  drink  thou'lt  find.* 

I  give  my  counsel  to  you,  citizens. 

To  reverence  and  guard  well  that  form  of  state 

Which  is  not  lawless,  nor  tyrannical. 

And  not  to  cast  all  fear  from  out  the  city  ;  * 

For  what  man  lives  devoid  of  fear  and  just  ? 

But  rightly  shrinking,  owning  awe  like  this,  *'° 

Ye  then  would  have  a  bulwark  of  your  land, 

A  safeguard  for  your  city,  such  as  none 

Boast  or  in  Skythia's*  or  in  Pelops'  clime. 

Attica  under  Oreithyia,  when  Theseus  was  king,  to  revenge  the 
wrongs  he  had  done  them,  and  to  recover  her  sister  Hipp  jlyta. 
Ares,  the  God  of  Thrakians,  Skythians,  and  nearly  all  the 
wilder  barbaric  tribes,  was  their  special  deity  ;  and  when  they 
occupied  the  hill  which  rose  over  against  the  Acropolis,  they 
sacrificed  to  him,  and  so  it  gained  the  name  of  the  Areopagos,  or 
"  hill  of  Ares." 

1  As  in  the  Agamemnon  (v.  loio),  so  here  we  find  the  aristo- 
cratic conservative  poet  showing  his  colours,  protesting  against 
the  admission  to  the  Archonship,  anditherefore  to  the  Areopagos, 
of  men  of  low  birth  or  in  undignified  employments. 

2  The  words,  like  all  political  clap-trap,  are  somewhat  vague ; 
but,  as  understood  at  the  time,  the  "  lawless"  policy  alluded  to 
was  that  of  Pericles  and  Ephialtes,  who  sought  to  deface  and  to 
diminish  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Areopagos,  and  the  "  tyrannical," 
that  which  had  crushed  the  independence  of  Athens  under 
Peisistratos.  Between  the  two  was  the  conservative  party,  of 
which  Kimon  had  b  en  the  leader. 

3  The  Skythians  may  be  named  simply  as  representing  all 
barbarous,  non-Hellenic  races ;  but  they  appear,  about  this 
time,  wild  and  nomadic  as  their  life  was,  to  hive  imprersed  the 
minds  of  the  Greeks  somewhat  in  the  same  way  as  the  Germans 

»70 


EUMENIDES 

This  council  I  establish  pure  from  bribe, 

Reverend,  and  keen  to  act,  for  those  that  sleep ' 

An  ever-watchful  sentry  of  the  land. 

This  charge  of  mine  I  thus  have  lengthened  out 

For  you,  my  people,  for  all  time  to  come. 

And  now  'tis  meet  ye  rise,  and  take  your  ballots,' 

And  so  decide  the  cause,  maintaining  still 

Your  reverence  for  your  oath.     My  speech  is  said.     **" 

Chor.  And  I  advise  you  not  to  treat  with  scorn 
A  troop  that  can  sit  heavy  on  your  land. 

Jpol.  And  I  do  bid  you  dread  my  oracles, 
And  those  of  Zeus,  nor  rob  them  of  their  fruit. 

Chor.  Uncalled  thou  com'st  to  take  a  murderer's  part; 
No  longer  pure  the  oracles  thou'lt  speak. 

Jpol.  And  did  my  father  then  in  purpose  err. 
Then  the  first  murderer  he  received,  Ixion  ?' 

Chor.  Thou  talk'st,  but  should  I  fail  in  this  my 
cause, 
I  will  again  dwell  here  and  vex  this  land. 

jipo/.  Alike  among  the  new  Gods  and  the  old  '**' 
Art  thou  dishonoured  :  I  shall  win  the  day. 

did  the  minds  of  the  Romans  in  the  time  of  Tacitus.  Tales 
floated  from  travellers'  lips  of  their  wisdom  and  their  happiness 
— of  sages  like  Zamolxis  and  Aristarchos,  who  rivalled  those  of 
Hellas — of  the  Hyperborei,  in  the  far  north,  who  enjoyed  a 
perpetual  and  unequalled  blessedness. — Comp.  Libation-Pourers, 
V.  366. 

1  Two  topics  of  praise  are  briefly  touched  on  :  (i)  the  lower, 
popular  courts  of  justice  at  Athens  might  be  open  to  the  suspi- 
cion of  corruption,  but  no  breath  of  slander  had  ever  tainted  the 
fame  of  the  Areopagos;  (2)  it  met  by  night,  keeping  its  watch, 
that  the  citizens  migfit  sleep  in  peace. 

2  The  first  of  the  twelve  jurymen  rises  and  drops  his  voting- 
ballot  into  one  of  the  urns,  and  is  followed  by  another  at  the 
end  of  each  of  the  short  two-line  speeches  in  the  dialogue  that 
follows.  The  two  urns  of  acquittal  and  condemnation  stand  in 
front  of  them.  The  plan  of  voting  with  different  coloured  l>alls 
(black  and  whhe)  in  the  same  urn,  was  a  lat'  r  usage. 

*  Compaie  note  on  v.  419. 

»7» 


EUMENIDES 

Chor.  This  did'st  thou  also  in  the  house  of  Pheres,* 
Winning  the  Fates  to  make  a  man  immortal. 

^pol.  Was  it  not  just  a  worshipper  to  bless 
In  any  case, — then  most,  when  he's  in  want  ? 

Chor.  Thou  did'st  o'erthrow,  yea,  thou,  laws  hoar 
with  age, 
And  drug  with  wine  the  ancient  Goddesses.* 

Apol.  Nay,  thou,  non-suited  in  this  cause  of  thine, 
Shalt  venom  spit  that  nothing  hurts  thy  foes.  ^'^ 

Chor.  Since  thou,  though  young,  dost  ride  me  down, 
though  old, 
I  wait  to  hear  the  issue  of  the  cause. 
Still  wavering  in  my  wrath  against  this  city. 

Athena.  'Tis  now  my    task    to    close   proceedings 
here  ; 
And  this  my  vote  J  to  Orestes  add  ; 
For  I  no  mother  own  that  brought  me  forth, 
And  saving  that  I  wed  not,  I  prefer 
The  male  with  all  my  heart,  and  make  mine  own 
The  father's  cause,  nor  will  above  it  place 
A  woman's  death,  who  slew  her  own  true  lord, 
The  guardian  of  her  house.     Orestes  wins,  ^^° 

E'en  though  the  votes  be  equal.  Cast  ye  forth 
With  all  your  speed  the  lots  from  out  the  urns, 
Ye  jurors  unto  whom  that  office  falls. 

Orest.  Phcebos   Apollo  !   what  will  be   the   judg- 
ment ? 

1  In  the  legend  of  Admetosson  of  Pheres,  and  king  of  Pherae 
in  Thessalia,  Apollo  is  represented  as  having  first  given  wine  to 
the  Destinies,  and  then  persuaded  them  to  allow  Admetos, 
whenever  the  hour  of  death  should  come,  to  be  redeemed  from 
Hades,  if  father,  or  mother,  or  wife  were  willing  to  die  for  him. 
The  self-surrender  of  his  wife,  Alkestis,  for  this  purpose,  forms 
the  subject  of  the  noblest  of  the  tragedies  of  Euripides. 

2  Partly  as  setting  at  nought  the  power  of  Erinnyes  and  the 
Destinies,  partly  as  giving  wine  to  those  whose  libations  were 
wineless. — Comp.  Sophocles,  (Ed.  Col.  v.  loo. 

I7Z 


EUMENIDES 

Chor.  Dark  Night,  my  mother !  dost  thou  look  on 

this  ? 
Of  est.  My  goal  is  now  the  noose,  or  full,  clear  day. 
Chor.  Ours  too  to  come  to  nought,  or  work   on 
still. 
[^  pause.      The  jurors  take  out  the  voting  tablets 
from  the  two  urns  {one  of  bronze,  the  other  of 
wood)  for  acquittal  or  condemnation 
Apol.  Now  count  ye  up  the  votes  thrown  out,  O 
friends. 
And  be  ye  honest,  as  ye  reckon  them ; 
One  sentence  lacking,  sorrow  great  may  come,  '*" 

And  one  vote  given  hath  ofttimes  saved  a  house. 

[^  pause,  during  which  the  urns  are  emptied  and 
the  votes  are  counted 
Athena.  The  accused  is  found  "not  guilty"  of  the 
murder : 
For  lo  !   the  numbers  of  the  votes  are  equal.' 

Orest.  O    Pallas,    thou    who    hast    redeemed    my 
house. 
Thou,  thou  hast  brought  me  back  when  I  had  been 
Bereaved  of  fatherland,  and  Hellenes  now 
Will  say,  "  The  man's  an  Argive  once  again. 
And  dwells  upon  his  father's  heritage. 
Because  of  Pallas  and  of  Loxias, 
And  Zeus,  the  true  third  Saviour,  all  o'erruling. 
Who,  touched  with  pity  for  my  father's  fate,  "" 

Saves  me,  beholding  these  my  mother's  pleaders." 
And  I  will  now  wend  homeward,  giving  pledge 
To  this  thy  country  and  its  valiant  host. 
To  stand  as  firm  for  henceforth  and  for  ever, 

1  The  practice  of  the  Areopagos  is  accurately  reproduced. 
When  the  votes  of  the  judges  were  eqiaal  a  casting  vote  was 
given  in  favour  of  the  accused,  and  was  known  as  that  of 
Athena. 

«73 


EUMENIDES 

That  no  man  henceforth,  chief  of  Argive  land. 

Shall  bring  against  it  spearmen  well  equipped  : 

For  we  ourselves,  though  in  our  sepulchres. 

On  those  who  shall  transgress  these  oaths  of  ours, 

Will  with  inextricable  evils  work, 

Making  their  paths  disheartening,  and  their  ways      "" 

Ill-omened,  that  they  may  their  toil  repent. 

But  if  these  oaths  be  kept,  to  those  who  honour 

This  city  of  great  Pallas,  our  ally. 

Then  we  to  them  are  more  propitious  yet. 

Farewell  then.  Thou,  and  these  who  guard  thy  city. 

Mayst  thou  so  wrestle  that  thy  foes  escape  not. 

And  so  win  victory  and  deliverance  ! 

Strophe 

Chor.  Ah  !  ah  !  ye  younger  God  ! 
Ye  have  ridden  down  the  laws  of  ancient  day!, 

And  robbed  me  of  my  prey. 
But  I,  dishonoured,  wretched,  full  of  wrath,  ^'^ 

Upon  this  land,  ha  !  ha  ! 
Will  venom,  venom  from  my  heart  let  fall. 

In  vengeance  for  my  grief, 

A  dropping  which  shall  smite 

The  earth  with  barrenness  ! 
And  thence  shall  come,  (O  Vengeance !)  on  the  plain 
Down  swooping,  blight  of  leaves  and  murrain  dire 
That  o'er  the  land  flings  taint  of  pestilence.  '*' 

Shall  I  then  wail  and  groan  ? 

Or  what  else  shall  I  do  ? 
Shall  I  become  a  woe  intolerable 
Unto  these  men  for  wrongs  I  have  endured  ? 

Great,  very  great  are  they, 
Ye  virgin  daughters  of  dim  Night,  ill-doomed. 

Born  both  to  shame  and  woe  ! 
Athena.  Nay,  list  to  me,  and  be  not  over-grieved ; 
•74 


EUMENIDES 

Ye  have  not  been  defeated,  but  the  cause 

Came  fairly  to  a  tie,  no  shame  to  thee. 

But  the  clear  evidence  of  Zeus  was  given, 

And  he  who  spalce  it  bare  his  witness  too 

That,  doing  this,  Orestes  should  not  suffer. 

Hurl  ye  not  then  fierce  rage  on  this  my  land ; 

Nor  be  ye  wroth,  nor  work  ye  barrenness, 

*By  letting  fall  the  drops  of  evil  Powers,^ 

The  baleful  influence  that  consumes  all  seed.  "* 

For  lo  !   I  promise,  promise  faithfully, 

That,  seated  on  your  hearths  with  shining  thrones. 

Ye  shall  find  cavern  homes  in  righteous  land, 

Honoured  and  worshipped  by  these  citizens. 

Antistrophe 
Chor.  Ah   ah  !  ye  younger  Gods ! 
Ye  have  ridden  down  the  laws  of  ancient  days, 

And  robbed  me  of  my  prey. 
And  I,  dishonoured,  wretched,  full  of  wrath, 

Upon  this  land,  ha  !  ha  ! 
Will  venom,  venom  from  my  heart  let  fall, 

In  vengeance  for  my  grief, 

A  dropping  which  shall  smite  ** 

The  earth  with  barrenness  ! 
And  thence  shall  come,  (O  Vengeance  !)  on  the  plain 
Down-swooping,  blight  of  leaves  and  murrain  dire 
That  o'er  the  land  flings  taint  of  pestilence. 

Shall  I  then  wail  and  groan  ? 

Or  what  else  shall  I  do  ? 
Shall  I  become  a  woe  intolerable 
Unto  these  men  for  wrongs  I  have  endured? 

Great,  very  great  are  they. 
Ye  virgin  daughters  of  dim  Night,  ill-doomed, 

Born  both  to  shame  and  woe ! 
*  Another  reading  gives — 

"  By  spurting  from  your  throats  thoae  venom  drops.'* 


EUMENIDES 

Athena.  Ye  are  not  left  un honoured ;  be  not  hot 
In  wrath,  ye  Goddesses,  to  mar  man's  land, 
I  too,  yes  I,  trust  Zeus.     Need  I  say  more  ?  "■" 

I  only  of  the  high  Gods  know  the  keys 
Of  chambers  where  the  sealed-up  thunder  lies ; 
But  that  I  have  no  need  of.     List  to  me, 
Nor  cast  upon  the  earth  thy  rash  tongue's  fruit, 
That  brings  to  all  things  failure  and  distress ; 
Lull  thou  the  bitter  storm  of  that  dark  surge, 
As  dwelling  with  me,  honoured  and  revered  ; 
And  thou  with  first-fruits  of  this  wide  champaign, 
Offerings  for  children's  birth  and  wedlock-rites, 
Shalt  praise  these  words  of  mine  for  evermore.  **^ 

Chor.  That  I  should  suffer  this,  fie  on  it !  fie  ! 
That  I,  with  thoughts  of  hoar  antiquity,' 
Should  now  in  this  land  dwell, 
Dishonoured,  deemed  a  plague ! 
I  breathe  out  rage,  and  every  form  of  wrath. 

Oh,  Earth  !  fie  on  it !  fie  ! 
What  pang  is  this  that  thrills  through  all  my  breast  ? 
Hear  thou,  O  mother  Night, 
Hear  thou  my  vehement  wrath  ! 
For  lo  !  deceits  that  none  can  wrestle  with 
Have  thrust  me  out  from  honours  old  of  Gods, 
And  made  a  thing  of  nought. 
Athena.  Thywrath  I'll  bear,for  thou theelderart,   ''° 
[And  wiser  too  In  that  respect  than  I ;] 
Yet  to  me  too  Zeus  gave  no  wisdom  poor ; 
And  ye,  if  ye  an  alien  country  seek, 
Shall  yearn  in  love  for  this  land.     This  I  tell  you ; 
For  to  this  people  Time,  as  it  runs  on. 
Shall  come  with  fuller  honours,  and  if  thou 

1  The  conservative  pcet  enters  his  protest  through  the  Erinnyes 
against  the  innovating  spirit  that  looked  with  contempt  upon  the 
principles  of  a  past  age. 

176 


EUMENIDES 

Hast  honoured  seat  hard  by  Erechtheus*  home. 
Thou  shalt  from  men  and  women  reap  such  gifts 
As  thou  would'st  never  gain  from  other  mortals  ; 
But  in  these  fields  of  mine  be  slow  to  cast  *** 

Whetstones  of  murder's  knife,  to  young  hearts  bale, 
Frenzied  with  maddened  passion,  not  of  wine ; 
Nor,  as  transplanting  hearts  of  fighting-cocks,' 
Make  Ares  inmate  with  my  citizens, 
In  evil  discord,  and  intestine  broils ; 
Let  them  have  war  without,  not  scantily. 
For  him  who  feels  the  passionate  thirst  of  fame : 
Battle  of  home-bred  birds  ...  I  name  it  not ; 
This  it  i«  thine  to  choose  as  gift  from  me ; 
Well-doing,  well-entreated,  and  well-honoured,        '*' 
To  share  the  land  best  loved  of  all  the  Gods. 

C/}or.  That  I  should  suffer  this,  fie  on  it !   fie  ! 
That  I,  with  thoughts  of  hoar  antiquity. 
Should  now  in  this  land  dwell, 
Dishonoured,  deemed  a  plague, 
I  breathe  out  rage,  and  every  form  of  wrath  ; 

Ah,  Earth  !  fie  on  it !  fie ! 
What  pang  is  this  that  thrills  through  all  my  breast  ? 
Hear  thou,  O  mother  Night, 
Hear  thou  my  vehement  wrath ! 
For  lo !  deceits  that  none  can  wrestle  with 
Have  thrust  me  out  from  honours  old  of  Gods, 

And  made  a  thing  of  nought.  "*■ 

Athena.  I  will  not  weary,  telling  thee  of  good. 
That  thou  may'st  never  say  that  thou,  being  old, 
Wert  at  the  hands  of  me,  a  younger  Goddess, 
And  those  of  men  who  in  my  city  dwell. 
Driven  in  dishonour,  exiled  from  this  plain. 

I  Cock-fighting  took  its  place  among  the  recognised  sports  of 
the  Athenians.  Once  a  year  there  was  a  public  performance  in 
the  theatre. 

II  177  M 


EUMENIDES 

But  if  the  might  of  Suasion  thou  count  holy, 

And  my  tongue's  blandishments  have  power  to  soothe. 

Then  thou  wilt  stay  ;  but  if  thou  wilt  not  stay, 

Not  justly  would'st  thou  bring  upon  this  city, 

Or  wrath,  or  grudge,  or  mischief  for  its  host. 

It  rests  with  thee,  as  dweller  in  this  spot,^  *° 

To  meet  with  all  due  honour  evermore. 

Ckor.  Athena,  Queen,  what  seat  assign'st  thou  me? 

Athena.  One  void  of  touch  of  evil ;  take  thou  it. 

Chor.  Say  I  accept.     What  honour  then  is  mine  ? 

Athena.  That  no  one  house  apart  from  thee  shall 
prosper. 

Chor.  And  wilt  thouworkthatlsuch  might  may  have  ? 

Athena.  His  lot  who  worships  thee  we'll  guide  aright. 

Chor.  And  wilt  thou  give  thy  warrant  for  all  time? 

^/i^^»<7.  What  I  work  not  I  might  refrain  from  speaking. 

Chor.  It  seems  thou  sooth'st  me  :  I  relax  my  wrath.    **• 

Athena.  In  this  land  dwelling  thou  new  friends  shalt 
gain. 

Chor.  What  hymn  then  for  this  land  dost  bid  me  raise? 

Athena.  Such  as  is  meet  for  no  ill-victory." 

And  pray  that  blessings  upon  men  be  sent. 

And  that,  too,  both  from  earth,  and  ocean's  spray 

And  out  of  heaven  ;  and  that  the  breezy  winds. 

In  sunshine  blowing,  sweep  upon  the  land, 

And  that  o'erflowing  fruit  of  field  and  flock 

May  never  fail  my  citizens  to  bless. 

Nor  safe  deliverance  for  the  seed  of  men. 

But  for  the  godless,  rather  root  them  out :  "" 

For  I,  like  gardener  shepherding  his  plants, 

This  race  of  just  men  freed  from  sorrow  love. 

1  The  Temple   of   the  Eumenides  or   Semnae  ("  venerable 
ones")  stood  near  the  Areopagos. 

2  Some  two  or  three  lines  have  probably  been  lost  here. 

178 


EUMENIDES 

So  much  for  thee :  and  I  will  never  fail 
To  give  this  city  honour  among  men, 
Victorious  in  the  noble  games  of  war. 

Strophe  I 
Chor.  I  will  accept  this  offered  home  with  Pallas, 
Nor  will  the  city  scorn, 
Which  e'en  All-ruling  Zeus 
And  Ares  give  as  fortress  of  the  Gods, 
The  altar-guarding  pride  of  Gods  of  Hellas  ;  **• 

And  I  upon  her  call, 
With  kindly  auguries. 
That  so  the  glorious  splendour  of  the  sun 
May  cause  life's  fairest  portion  in  thick  growth 
*To  burgeon  from  the  earth. 
Athena.  Yea,  I  work  with  kindliest  feeling 
For  these  my  townsmen,  having  settled 
Powers  great,  and  hard  to  soothe  among  them : 
Unto  them  the  lot  is  given. 

All  things  human  still  to  order ;  ** 

He  who  hath  not  felt  their  pressure 
Knows  not  whence  life's  scourges  smite  him  : 
For  the  sin  of  generations 
Past  and  gone  ; — a  dumb  destroyer, — 
Leads  him  on  into  their  presence. 
And  with  mood  of  foe  low  bringeth 
Him  whose  lips  are  speaking  proudly. 

Antistrophe  I 
Chor.  Let  no  tree-blighting  canker  breathe  on  them, 
(I  tell  of  boon  I  give,) 
Nor  blaze  of  scorching  heat. 
That  mars  the  budding  eyes  of  nursling  plants,         "*"' 
And  checks  their  spreading  o'er  their  narrow  bounds  ; 
And  may  no  dark,  drear  plague 
Smite  it  with  barrenness. 
179 


EUMENIDES 

But  may  Earth  feed  fair  flock  in  season  due, 
Blest  with  twin  births,  and  earth's  rich  produce  pay 
To  the  high  heavenly  Powers, 
Its  gift  for  treasure  found.^ 
Athena.  Hear  ye  then,  ye  city's  guardians. 

What  she  offers  ?     Dread  and  mighty  "" 

With  the  Undying  is  Erinnys ; 

And  with  Those  beneath  the  earth  too, 

And  full  clearly  and  completely 

Work  they  all  things  out  for  mortals. 

Giving  these  the  songs  of  gladness. 

Those  a  life  bedimmed  with  weeping. 

Strophe  II 
Chor.  Avaunt,  all  evil  chance 
That  brings  men  low  in  death  before  their  time ! 
And  for  the  maidens  lovely  and  beloved, 
Give,  ye  whose  work  it  is. 
Life  with  a  husband  true. 
And  ye,  O  Powers  of  self-same  mother  born,  "" 

Ye  Fates  who  rule  aright, 
Partners  in  every  house. 
Awe-striking  through  all  time. 
With  presence  full  of  righteousness  and  truth. 
Through  all  the  universe 
Most  honoured  of  the  Gods ! 
Athena.  Much  I  joy  that  thus  ye  promise 
These  boons  to  my  land  in  kindness ; 
And  I  love  the  glance  of  Suasion, 
That  she  guides  my  speech  and  accent 
Unto  these  who  gainsaid  stoutly.  "** 

But  the  victory  is  won  by 
Zeus,  the  agora's  protector  ; 
1  Probably  an  allusion  to  the  silver-mine  at  Laureion,  which 
about  the  time  formed  a  large  element  of  the  revenues  of  Athens, 
and  of  which  a  tithe  was  consecrated  to  Athena. 
i8o 


EUMENIDES 

And  our  rivalry  in  blessings 
Is  the  conqueror  evermore. 

Antistrophe  II 
Chor.  For  this  too  I  will  pray, 
That  Discord,  never  satiate  with  ill, 
May  never  ravine  in  this  commonwealth. 

Nor  dust  that  drinks  dark  blood 

From  veins  of  citizens, 
Through  eager  thirst  for  vengeance,  from  the  State 

Snatch  woes  as  penalty 

For  deeds  of  murderous  guilt. 

But  may  they  give  instead 
With  friendly  purpose  acts  of  kind  intent,  **" 

And  if  need  be,  may  hate 

With  minds  of  one  accord  ; 
For  this  is  healing  found  to  mortal  men 

Of  many  a  grievous  woe. 
Athena.  Are  they  not  then  waxing  wiser, 

And  at  last  the  path  discerning 

Of  a  speech  more  good  and  gentle  ? 

Now  from  these  strange  forms  and  fearful, 

§ee  I  to  my  townsmen  coming, 

E'en  to  these,  great  meed  of  profit ; 

For  if  ye,  with  kindly  welcome, 

Honour  these  as  kind  protectors. 

Then  shall  ye  be  famed  as  keeping. 

Just  and  upright  in  all  dealings, 

Land  and  city  evermore. 

Strophe  III 

Chor.  Rejoice,  rejoice  ye  in  abounding  wealth, 

Rejoice,  ye  citizens. 

Dwelling  near  Zeus  himself,^  •** 

1  Reference  is  made  to  another  local  sanctuary,  the  temple  on 
the  Areopagos  dedicated  to  the  Olympian  Zeus. 
i8i 


EUMENIDES 

Loved  of  the  virgin  Goddess  whom  ye  loved, 
In  due  time  wise  of  heart, 

You,  'neath  the  wings  of  Pallas  ever  staying,' 
The  Father  honoureth. 
Athena.  Rejoice  ye  also,  but  before  you 
I  must  march  to  show  your  chambers, 
By  your  escorts'  torches  holy ; 
Go,  and  with  these  dread  oblations  •®' 

Passing  to  the  crjpt  cavernous. 
Keep  all  harm  from  this  our  country, 
Send  all  gain  upon  our  city. 
Cause  it  o'er  its  foes  to  triumph. 
Lead  ye  on,  ye  sons  of  Cranaos,* 
Lead,  ye  dwellers  in  the  city. 
Those  who  come  to  sojourn  with  you. 
And  may  good  gifts  work  good  purpose 
In  my  townsmen  evermore  ! 

Antistrophe  III 
Cher.  Rejoice,  rejoice  once  more,  ye  habitants !     ''" 
I  say  it  yet  again. 
Ye  Gods,  and  mortals  too, 
Who  dwell  in  Pallas'  city.     Should  ye  treat  * 

With  reverence  us  who  dwell 
As  sojourners  among  you,  ye  shall  find 
No  cause  to  blame  your  lot. 
Athena.  I  praise  these  words  of  yours,  the  prayers 
ye  offer. 
And  with  the  light  of  torches  flashing  fire. 
Will  I  escort  you  to  your  dark  abode,' 

1  The  figure  of  Athena,  as  identical  with  Victory,  and  so  the 
tutelary  Goddess  of  Athens,  was  sculptured  with  outspread 
wings. 

2  Cranaos,  the  son  of  Kecrops,  the  mythical  founder  of 
Athens. 

3  The  sanctuaries  of  the  Eumenides  were  crypt-like  chapels, 
where  they  were  worshipped  by  the  light  of  lamps  or  torches. 

l82 


EUMENIDES 

Low  down  beneath  the  earth,  with  my  attendants. 

Who  with  due  honour  guard  my  statue  here, 

For  now  shall  issue  forth  the  goodly  eye 

Of  all  the  land  of  Theseus ;  fair-famed  troop  **" 

Of  girls  and  women,  band  of  matrons  too, 

In  upper  vestments  purple-dyed  arrayed  : 

•Now  then  advance  ye;  and  the  blaze  of  fire. 

Let  it  go  forth,  that  so  this  company 

Stand  forth  propitious,  henceforth  and  for  aye, 

In  rearing  race  of  noblest  citizens, 

Enter  an  array  of  tvomen^  young  and  old,  in  procession, 
leading    the    Erinnyes — now,    as   propitiated,    the 
Eumenides  or  Gentle  Ones — to  their  shrines 
Chorus  of  Athenian  women 

Strophe  I 
Go  to  your  home,  ye  great  and  jealous  Ones, 
Children  of  Night,  and  yet  no  children  ye;' 
With  escort  of  good-will, 
Shout,  shout,  ye  townsmen,  shout. 

Antistrophe  I 
There  in  the  dark  and  gloomy  caves  of  earth. 
With  worthy  gifts  and  many  a  sacrifice  "•" 

ConsumM  in  the  fire — 

Shout,  shout  ye,  one  and  all. 

Strophe  II 

Come,  come,  with  thought  benign 

Propitious  to  our  land. 

Ye  dreaded  Ones,  yea,  come. 
While  on  your  progress  onward  ye  rejoice, 
In  the  bright  light  of  fire-devoured  torch  ; 

Shout,  shout  ye  to  our  songs. 

1  Perhaps,    "  Children  of  Night,  yourselves  all  childless  left." 
183 


EUMENIDES 

Artistrophe  II 

Let  the  drink-offerings  come, 

In  order  meet  behind, 

While  torches  fling  their  light ; 
*Zeus  the  All-seeing  thus  hath  joined  in  league 
*With  Destiny  for  Pallas'  citizens ; 

Shout,  shout  ye  to  our  songs. 

\The  procession  winds  its  way,  Athena  at  its  head,  then 
the  Eumenides,  then  the  women,  round  the  Areopagos 
towards  the  ravine  in  which  the  dread  Goddesses  were 
to  find  their  sanctuary."] 


i84 


FRAGMENTS 

38 

Aphrodite  loquitur 

The  pure,  bright  heaven  still  yearns  to  blend  with  earth, 
And  earth  is  filled  with  love  for  marriage-rites, 
And  from  the  kindly  sky  the  rain-shower  falls 
And  fertilises  earth,  and  earth  for  men 
Yields  grass  for  sheep,  and  corn,  Demeter's  gift ; 
And  from  its  wedlock  with  the  South  the  fruit 
Is  ripened  in  its  season;  and  of  this, 
All  this,  I  am  the  cause  accessory. 

123 

So,  in  the  Libyan  fables,  it  is  told 
That  once  an  eagle,  stricken  with  a  dart, 
Said,  when  he  saw  the  fashion  of  the  shaft, 
"With  our  own  feathers,  not  by  others'  hands, 
Are  we  now  smitten."        j 

Of  all  the  Gods,  Death  only  craves  not  gifts : 
Nor  sacrifice,  nor  yet  drink-offering  poured 
Avails ;  no  altars  hath  he,  nor  is  soothed 
By  hymns  of  praise.     From  him  alone  of  all 
The  powers  of  Heaven  Persuasion  holds  aloof. 

When  'tis  God's  will  to  bring  an  utter  doom 
Upon  a  house.  He  first  in  mortal  men 
Implants  what  works  it  out. 


FRAGMENTS 

162 
The  words  of  Truth  are  ever  simplest  found. 

163 
What  good  is  found  in  life  that  still  brings  pain? 

174 
To  many  mortals  silence  great  gain  brings. 

229 

O  Death  the  Healer,  scorn  thou  not,  I  pray. 
To  come  to  me  :  of  cureless  ills  thou  art 
The  one  physician.     Pain  lays  not  its  touch 
Upon  a  corpse. 

230 

When  the  wind 
Nor  suffers  us  to  leave  the  port,  nor  stay. 

243 
And  if  thou  wish  to  benefit  the  dead, 
'Tis  all  as  one  as  if  thou  injured'st  them. 
And  they  nor  sorrow  nor  delight  can  feel : 
Vet  higher  than  we  are  is  Nemesis, 
And  Justice  taketh  vengeance  for  the  dead. 

266 

Thetis  on  the  death  of  Achilles 

Life  free  from  sickness,  and  of  many  years, 
And  in  a  word  a  fortune  like  to  theirs 
Whom  the  Gods  love,  all  this  He  spake  to  me 
As  paean-hymn,  and  made  my  heart  full  glad : 
And  I  full  fondly  trusted  Phcebos'  lips 
As  holy  and  from  falsehood  free,  of  art 
Oracular  an  ever-flowing  spring, 
186 


FRAGMENTS 

And  He  who  sang  this,  He  who  at  the  feast 
Being  present,  spake  these  things, — yea,  He  it  is 
That  slew  my  son. 

267 

The  man  who  does  ill,  ill  must  suffer  too. 

268 

Evil  on  mortals  comes  full  swift  of  foot. 

And  guilt  on  him  who  doth  the  right  transgress. 

269 

Thou  see'st  a  vengeance  voiceless  and  unseen 

For  one  who  sleeps  or  walks  or  sits  at  ease  : 

It  takes  its  course  obliquely,  here  to-day. 

And  there  to-morrow.     Nor  does  night  conceal 

Men's  deeds  of  ill,  but  whatsoe'er  thou  dost, 

Think  that  some  God  beholds  it. 

J 

270 
"All  have  their  chance : "  good  proverb  for  the  rich. 

271 

Wise  is  the  man  who  knows  what  profiteth. 
Not  he  who  knoweth  much. 

272 
Full  grievous  burden  is  a  prosperous  fool. 

272A 
From*  a  just  fraud  God  turneth  not  away. 

273 

There  is  a  time  when  God  doth  falsehood  prize. 
187 


FRAGMENTS 

274 
The  polished  brass  is  mirror  of  the  form, 
Wine  of  the  soul. 

275 
Words  are  the  parents  of  a  causeless  wrath. 

276 
Men  credit  gain  for  oaths,  not  oaths  for  them. 

277 
God  ever  works  with  those  that  work  with  will. 

278 
Wisdom  to  learn  is  e'en  for  old  men  good. 

281 

The  base  who  prosper  are  intolerable. 

282 

The  seed  of  mortals  broods  o'er  passing  things, 

And  hath  nought  surer  than  the  smoke-cloud's  shadow. 

283 
Old  age  hath  stronger  sense  of  right  than  youth. 

286 

'    Yet  though  a  man  gets  many  wounds  in  breast. 
He  dieth  not,  unless  the  appointed  time, 
The  limit  of  his  life's  span,  coincide; 
Nor  does  the  man  who  by  the  hearth  at  home 
Sits  still,  escape  the  doom  that  Fate  decrees.    . 

287 

(    How  far  from  just  the  hate  men  bear  to  death, 

Which  comes  as  safeguard  against  many  ills.     , 

188  ->' 


FRAGMENTS 

a88 

To  Fortune 

Thou  did'st  beget  me ;  thou  too,  as  it  seems. 
Wilt  now  destroy  me. 

289 

The  fire-moth's  silly  death  is  that  I  fear. 

290 

I  by  experience  know  the  race  full  well 

That  dwells  in  .^thiop  land,  where  seven-mouthed  Nile 

Rolls  o'er  the  land  with  winds  that  bring  the  rain. 

What  time  the  fiery  sun  upon  the  earth 

Pours  its  hot  rays,  and  melts  the  snow  till  then 

Hard  as  the  rocks ;  and  all  the  fertile  soil 

Of  Egypt,  filled  with  that  pure-flowing  stream, 

Brings  forth  Demeter's  ears  that  feed  our  life. 

291 

This  hoopoo,  witness  of  its  own  dire  ills, 
He  hath  in  varied  garb  set  forth,  and  shows 
In  full  array  that  bold  bird  of  the  rocks 
Which,  when  the  spring  first  comes,  unfiirls  a  wing 
Like  that  of  white-plumed  kite ;  for  on  one  breast 
It  shows  two  forms,  its  own  and  eke  its  child's. 
And  when  the  corn  grows  gold,  in  autumn's  prime, 
A  dappled  plumage  all  its  form  will  clothe ; 
And  ever  in  its  hate  of  these  't  will  go 
Far  off  to  lonely  thickets  or  bare  rocks. 

292 

^  Still  to  the  sufferer  comes,  as  due  from  God, 
A  glory  that  to  suffering  owes  its  birth. 

189 


FRAGMENTS 

293 

The  air  is  Zeus,  Zeus  earth,  and  Zeus  the  heaven, 
Zeus  all  that  is,  and  what  transcends  them  all. 

294 
/  Take  courage  ;  pain's  extremity  soon  ends. 

298 

I     When  Strength  and  Justice  are  true  yoke-fellows, 
Where  can  be  found  a  mightier  pair  than  they  I 


190 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 

AGAMEMNON 

Verses  40-248 

Nine  weary  years  are  gone  and  spent 

Since  Menelaos'  armament 

Sped  forth,  on  work  of  vengeance  bent, 

For  Priam's  guilty  land  ; 
And  with  him  Agamemnon  there 
Throne,  sceptre,  army  all  did  share ; 
And  so  from  Zeus  the  Atreida;  bear, 

Their  two-fold  high  command. 
They  a  fleet  of  thousand  sail, 
Strong  in  battle  to  prevail. 
Led  from  out  our  Argive  coast, 
Shouting  war-cries  to  the  host ; 
E'en  as  vultures  do  that  utter 
Shrillest  screams  as  round  they  flutter, 
Grieving  for  their  nestlings  lost. 
Plying  still  their  oary  wings 
In  many  lonely  wanderings. 
Robbed  of  all  the  sweet  unrest 
That  bound  them  to  their  young  ones'  nest. 
And  One  on  high  of  solemn  state, 
Apollo,  Pan,  or  Zeus  the  great, 
When  he  hears  that  shrill  wild  cry 
Of  his  clients  in  the  sky, 
On  them,  the  godless  who  offend, 
Erinnys  slow  and  sure  doth  send. 
191 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 

So  'gainst  Alexandres  then 
The  sons  of  Atreus,  chiefs  of  men, 
Zeus  sent  to  work  his  high  behest, 
True  guardian  of  the  host  and  guest. 
He,  for  bride  of  many  a  groom. 
On  Danai,  Troi'ans  sendeth  doom. 
Many  wrestlings,  sinew-trying 
Of  the  knee  in  dust  down-lying. 
Many  a  spear-shaft  snapt  asunder 
In  the  prelude  of  war's  thunder. 
What  shall  be,  shall,  and  still  we  see 
Fulfilled  is  destiny's  decree. 
Nor  by  tears  in  secret  shed, 
Nor  by  offerings  o'er  the  dead. 
Will  he  soothe  God's  vengeful  ire 
For  altar  hearths  despoiled  of  fire. 

And  we  with  age  outworn  and  spent 
Are  left  behind  that  armament, 
With  head  upon  our  staff  low  bent. 
Weak  our  strength  like  that  of  boy  ; 
Youth's  life-blood,  in  its  bounding  joy, 
For  deeds  of  might  is  like  to  age, 
And  knows  not  yet  war's  heritage  : 
And  the  man  whom  many  a  year 
Hath  bowed  in  withered  age  and  sere, 
As  with  three  feet  creepeth  on, 
Like  phantom  form  of  day-dream  gone 
Not  stronger  than  his  infant  son. 

And  now,  O  Queen,  who  tak'st  thy  name 
From  Tyndareus  of  ancient  fame, 
Our  Clytasmnestra  whom  we  own 
As  rightly  sharing  Argos'  throne  ! 
What  tidings  joyous  hast  thou  heard. 
Token  true  or  flattering  word, 
192 


AGAMEMNON 

That  thou  send'st  to  every  shrine 

Solemn  pomp  in  stately  line, — 

Shrines  of  Gods  who  reign  in  light, 

Or  those  who  dwell  in  central  night, 

Who  in  Heaven  for  aye  abide. 

Or  o'er  the  Agora  preside. 

Lo,  thy  gifts  on  altars  blaze, 

And  here  and  there  through  heaven's  wide  ways 

The  torches  fling  their  fiery  rays, 

Fed  by  soft  and  suasive  spell 

Of  the  clear  oil,  flowing  well 

From  the  royal  treasure-cell. 

Telling  what  of  this  thou  may, 

All  that's  meet  to  us  to  say, 

Do  thou  our  haunting  cares  allay, 

Cares  which  now  bring  sore  distress. 

While  now  bright  hope,  with  power  to  bless. 

From  out  the  sacrifice  appears, 

And  wardeth  off  our  restless  fears, 

The  boding  sense  of  coming  fate, 

That  makes  the  spirit  desolate. 

Strophe  I 

Yes,  it  is  mine  to  tell 
What  omens  to  our  leaders  then  befell, 

Giving  new  strength  for  war, 

(For  still  though  travelled  far 
In  life,  by  God's  great  gift  to  us  belong 

The  suasive  powers  of  song,) 

To  tell  how  those  who  bear 
O'er  all  Achaeans  sway  in  equal  share. 

Ruling  in  one  accord 
The  youth  of  Hellas  that  own  each  as  lord, 

Were  sent  with  mighty  host 
By  mighty  birds  against  the  Troian  coast, 
u  193  11 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 

Kings  of  the  air  to  kings  of  men  appearing 
Near  to  the  palace,  on  the  right  hand  veering ; 

On  spot  seen  far  and  near. 

They  with  their  talons  tear 
A  pregnant  hare  with  all  her  unborn  young, 
All  her  life's  course  in  death's  deep  darkness  flung. 
Oh  raise  the  bitter  cry,  the  bitter  wail ; 

Yet  pray  that  good  prevail ! 

Antistrophe  I 

And  then  the  host's  wise  seer 
Stood  gazing  on  the  Atreidae  standing  near, 

Of  diverse  mood,  and  knew 

Those  who  the  poor  hare  slew. 
And  those  who  led  the  host  with  shield  and  spear, 

And  spake  his  omens  clear  : 

"  One  day  this  host  shall  go. 
Ana  Priam's  city  in  the  dust  lay  low, 

And  all  the  kine  and  sheep 
Countless,  which  they  before  their  high  towers  keep, 

Fate  shall  with  might  destroy  : 
Only  take  heed  that  no  curse  mar  your  joy, 
Nor  blunt  the  edge  of  curb  that  Troia  waiteth. 
Smitten  too  soon,  for  Artemis  still  hateth 

The  winged  hounds  that  own 

Her  father  on  his  throne, 
Who  slay  the  mother  with  the  young  unborn, 
And  looks  upon  the  eagle's  feast  with  scorn. 
Ah !  raise  the  bitter  cry,  the  bitter  wail ; 

Yet  pray  that  good  prevail. 

Epode 
For  she,  the  Fair  One,  though  her  mercy  shields 
The  lion's  whelps,  like  dew-drops  newly  shed, 
And  yeanling  young  of  beasts  that  roam  the  fields. 
Yet  prays  her  sire  fulfil  these  omens  dread, 
194 


AGAMEMNON 

The  good,  the  evil  too. 
And  now  I  call  on  him,  our  Healer  true, 
Lest  she  upon  the  Danai  send  delays 
That  keep  our  ships  through  many  weary  days, 

Urging  a  new  strange  rite, 
Unblest  alike  by  man  and  God's  high  law. 
Evil  close  clinging,  working  sore  despite, 

Marring  a  wife's  true  awe. 

For  still  there  lies  in  wait. 

Fearful  and  ever  new. 
Watching  the  hour  its  eager  thirst  to  sate, 
Vengeance  on  those  who  helpless  infants  slew." 
Such  things,  ill  mixed  with  good,  great  Calchas  spake, 
As  destined  by  the  birds'  strange  auguries ; 
And  we  too  now  our  echoing  answer  make 

In  loud  and  woeful  cries : 
Oh  raise  the  bitter  cry,  the  bitter  wail ; 

Yet  pray  that  good  prevail. 

Strophe  II 

O  Zeus,  whoe'er  Thou  be, 

If  that  name  please  thee  well. 

By  that  I  call  on  Thee  ; 
For  weighing  all  things  else  I  fail  to  tell 

Of  any  name  but  Zeus ; 

If  once  for  all  I  seek 
Of  all  my  haunting,  troubled  thoughts  a  truce, 

That  name  I  still  must  speak. 

Antistrophe  II 
For  He  who  once  was  great, 
Full  of  the  might  to  war. 
Hath  lost  his  high  estate  ; 
And  He  who  followed  now  is  driven  afar. 
Meeting  his  Master  too  : 
But  if  one  humbly  pay 
»95 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 

With  'bated  breath  to  Zeus  his  honour  due, 
He  walks  in  wisdom's  way, — 

Strophe  III 
To  Zeus,  who  men  in  wisdom's  path  doth  train, 

Who  to  our  mortal  race 
Hath  given  the  fixed  law  that  pain  is  gain  ; 

For  still  through  his  high  grace 
True  counsel  falleth  on  the  heart  like  dew. 

In  deep  sleep  of  the  night, 
The  boding  thoughts  that  out  of  ill  deeds  grew ; 
This  too  They  work  who  sit  enthroned  in  their  might 

Antistrophe  III 
And  then  the  elder  leader  of  great  fame 

Who  ruled  the  Achaeans'  ships, 
Not  bold  enough  a  holy  seer  to  blame 

With  words  from  reckless  lips, 
But  tempered  to  the  fate  that  on  him  fell ; — 

And  when  the  host  was  vexed 
With  tarryings  long,  scant  stores,  and  surging  swell, 
Chalkis  still  far  ofl"  seen,  and  baffled  hopes  perplexed ; 

Strophe  IV 
And  stormy  blasts  that  down  from  Strymon  sweep, 
And  breed  sore  famine  with  the  long  delay, 
Hurl  forth  our  men  upon  the  homeless  deep 

On  many  a  wandering  way, 
Sparing  nor  ships,  nor  ropes,  nor  sailing  gear, 
Doubling  the  weary  months,  and  vexing  still 

The  Argive  host  with  fear. 
Then  when  as  mightier  charm  for  that  dread  ill. 

Hard  for  our  ships  to  bear. 
From  the  seer's  lips  did  "Artemis"  resound, 
The  Atreidse  smote  their  staves  upon  the  ground, 
And  with  no  power  to  check,  shed  many  a  bitter  tear. 
196 


AGAMEMNON 

Antistrophk  IV 
And  then  the  elder  of  the  chiefs  thus  cried  : 
"  Great  woe  it  is  the  Gods  to  disobey  ; 
Great  woe  if  I  my  child,  my  home's  fond  pride, 

With  my  own  hands  must  slay, 
Polluting  with  the  streams  of  maiden's  blood 
A  father's  hands,  the  holy  altar  near. 

Which  course  hath  least  of  good  ? 
How  can  I  loss  of  ships  and  comrades  bear? 

Right  well  may  men  desire. 
With  craving  strong,  the  blood  of  maiden  pure 
As  charm  to  lull  the  winds  and  calm  ensure  ; 
Ah,  may  there  come  the  good  to  which  our  hopes  aspire  !  " 

Strophe  V 
Then,  when  he  his  spirit  proud 
To  the  yoke  of  doom  had  bowed. 
While  the  blasts  of  altered  mood 
O'er  his  soul  swept  like  a  flood, 
Reckless,  godless  and  unblest ; 
Thence  new  thoughts  upon  him  pressed. 
Thoughts  of  evil,  frenzied  daring, 
(Still  doth  passion,  base  guile  sharing, 
Mother  of  all  evil,  hold 
The  power  to  make  men  bad  and  bold,) 
And  he  brought  himself  to  slay 
His  daughter,  as  on  solemn  day. 
Victim  slain  the  ship  to  save, 
When  for  false  wife  fought  the  brave. 

Antistrophe  V 
All  her  cries  and  loud  acclaim, 
Calling  on  her  father's  name, — 
All  her  beauty  fresh  and  fair. 
They  heeded  not  in  their  despair, 
Their  eager  lust  for  conflict  there. 
»97 


RHYMED    CHORUSES 

And  her  sire  the  attendants  bade 

To  lift  her,  when  the  prayer  was  said. 

Above  the  altar  like  a  kid, 

Her  face  and  form  in  thick  veil  hid  ; 

Yea,  with  ruthless  heart  and  bold, 

O'er  her  gracious  lips  to  hold 

Their  watch,  and  with  the  gag's  dumb  pain 

From  evil-boding  words  restrain. 

Strophe  VI 

And  then  upon  the  ground 
Pouring  the  golden  streams  of  saffron  veil, 

She  cast  a  glance  around 

That  told  its  piteous  tale, 
At  each  of  those  who  stood  prepared  to  slay, 

Fair  as  the  form  by  skilful  artist  drawn. 
And  wishing,  all  in  vain,  her  thoughts  to  say  ; 
For  oft  of  old  in  maiden  youth's  first  dawn, 

Within  her  father's  hall. 

Her  voice  to  song  did  call. 
To  chant  the  praises  of  her  sire's  high  state, 
His  fame,  thrice  blest  of  Heaven,  to  celebrate. 

What  then  ensued  mine  eyes 
Saw  not,  nor  may  I  tell,  but  not  in  vain 

The  arts  of  Calchas  wise  ; 

For  justice  sends  again, 
The  lesson  "  pain  is  gain  "  for  them  to  learn  : 
But  for  our  piteous  fate  since  help  is  none, 
With  voice  that  bids  "  Good-bye,"  we  from  it  turn 
Ere  yet  it  come,  and  this  is  all  as  one 

With  weeping  ere  the  hour. 

For  soon  will  come  in  power 
To-morrow's  dawn,  and  good  luck  with  it  come ! 
So  speaks  the  guardian  of  this  Apian  home. 

198 


AGAMEMNON 

Verses  346-471 

O  great  and  sovran  Zeus,  O  Night, 

Great  in  glory,  great  in  might, 

Who  round  Troia's  towers  hast  set, 

Enclosing  all,  thy  close-meshed  net. 

So  that  neither  small  nor  great 

Can  o'erleap  the  bond-slave's  fate, 

Or  woe  that  maketh  desolate  ; 

Zeus,  the  God  of  host  and  guest. 

Worker  of  all  this  confessed, 

He  by  me  shall  still  be  blest. 

Long  since,  'gainst  Alexandros  He 

Took  aim  with  bow  that  none  may  flee, 

That  so  his  arrows  onward  driven. 

Nor  miss  their  mark,  nor  pierce  the  heaven. 

Strophe  I 

Yes,  they  lie  smitten  low, 
If  so  one  dare  to  speak,  by  stroke  of  Zeus  ; 

Well  one  may  trace  the  blow  ; 
The  doom  that  He  decreed  their  soul  subdues. 

And  though  there  be  that  say 
The  Gods  for  mortal  men  care  not  at  all, 
Though  they  with  reckless  feet  tread  holiest  way, 

These  none  will  godly  call.  1 
Now  is  it  to  the  children's  children  clear 

Of  those  who,  overbold, 
More  than  was  meet,  breathed  Discord's  spirit  drear ; 
While  yet  their  houses  all  rich  store  did  hold 

Beyond  the  perfect  mean. 
Ah !  may  my  lot  be  free  from  all  that  harms. 

My  soul  may  nothing  wean 
From  calm  contentment  with  her  tranquil  charms ; 

For  nought  is  there  in  wealth 
That  serves  as  bulwark  'gainst  the  subtle  stealth 
199 


RHYMED  CHORUSES 

Of  Destiny  and  Doom, 
For  one  who,  in  the  pride  of  wanton  mood, 
Spurns  the  great  altar  of  the  Right  and  Good. 

Antistrophe  I 

Yea,  a  strange  impulse  wild 
Urges  him  on,  resistless  in  its  might, 

At^'s  far-scheming  child. 
It  knows  no  healing,  is  not  hid  in  night, 

That  mischief  lurid,  dark; 
Like  bronze  that  will  not  stand  the  test  of  wear, 
A  tarnished  blackness  in  its  hue  we  mark  ; 
And  like  a  boy  who  doth  a  bird  pursue 

Swift-floating  on  the  wing, 
He  to  his  country  hopeless  woe  doth  bring; 

And  no  God  hears  their  prayer, 
But  sendeth  down  the  unrighteous  to  despair, 

Whose  hands  are  stained  with  sin. 

So  was  it  Paris  came 
His  entrance  to  the  Atreidas's  home  to  win, 

And  brought  its  queen  to  shame. 
To  shame  that  brand  indelible  hath  set 
Upon  the  board  where  host  and  guest  were  met. 

Strophe  II 
And  leaving  to  her  countrymen  to  bear 
Wild  whirl  of  ships  of  war  and  shield  and  spear, 

And  bringing  as  her  dower. 

Death's  doom  to  llion's  tower. 
She  hath  passed  quickly  through  the  palace  gate, 

Daring  what  none  should  dare ; 
And  lo !   the  minstrel  seers  bewail  the  fate 

That  home  must  henceforth  share  ; 
"  Woe  for  the  kingly  house  and  for  its  lord ; 
Woe  for  the  marriage-bed  and  paths  which  still 

A  vanished  love  doth  fill ! 


AGAMEMNON 

There  stands  he,  wronged,  yet  speaking  not  »  word 

Of  scorn  from  wrathful  will, 
Seeing  with  utter  woe  that  he  is  left, 

Of  her  fair  form  bereft ; 

And  in  his  yearning  love 
For  her  who  now  is  far  beyond  the  sea, 
A  phantom  queen  through  all  the  house  shall  rovfc; ; 

And  all  the  joy  doth  flee 
The  sculptured  forms  of  beauty  once  did  give  ; 
And  in  the  penury  of  eyes  that  live. 

All  Aphrodite's  grace 

Is  lost  in  empty  space. 

Antistrophe  II 
And  spectral  forms  in  visions  of  the  night 
Come,  bringing  sorrow  with  their  vain  delight : 

For  vain  it  is  when  one 

Thinks  that  great  joy  is  near. 
And,  passing  through  his  hands,  the  dream  is  gone 

On  gliding  wings,  that  bear 
The  vision  far  away  on  paths  of  sleep," 

Such  woes  were  felt  at  home 
Upon  the  sacred  altar  of  the  hearth, 
And  worse  than  these  remain  for  those  who  roam 

From  Hellas'  parent  earth  : 
In  every  house,  in  number  measureless, 

Is  seen  a  sore  distress : 

Yea,  sorrows  pierce  the  heart : 
For  those  who  from  his  home  he  saw  depart 

Each  knoweth  all  too  well ; 
And  now,  instead  of  warrior's  living  frame. 
There  cometh  to  the  home  where  each  did  dwell 
The  scanty  ashes,  relics  of  the  flame. 

The  urns  of  bronze  that  keep 

The  dust  of  those  that  sleep. 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 

Strophe  III 
For  Ares,  who  from  bodies  of  the  slain 

Reapeth  a  golden  gain, 
And  holdeth,  like  a  trafficker,  his  scales. 
E'en  where  the  torrent  rush  of  war  prevails. 

From  Ilion  homeward  sends 
But  little  dust,  yet  burden  sore  for  friends, 
O'er  which,  smooth-lying  in  the  brazen  urn, 

They  sadly  weep  and  mourn, 
Now  for  this  man  as  foremost  in  the  strife, 
And  now  for  that  who  in  the  battle  fell. 

Slain  for  another's  wife. 
And  muttered  curses  some  in  secret  tell. 

And  jealous  discontent 
Against  the  Atreidae  who  as  champions  led 

The  mighty  armament ; 
And  some  around  the  wall,  the  goodly  dead, 
Have  there  in  alien  land  their  monument. 

And  in  the  soil  of  foes 
Take  in  the  sleep  of  death  their  last  repose. 

Antistrophe  III 

And  lo !   the  murmurs  which  our  country  fill 

Are  as  a  solemn  curse, 
And  boding  anxious  fear  expecteth  still 

To  hear  of  evil  worse. 
Not  blind  the  Gods,  but  giving  fullest  heed 
To  those  who  cause  a  nation's  wounds  to  bleed ; 
And  the  dark-robed  Erinnyes  in  due  time 

By  adverse  chance  and  change 
Plunge  him  who  prospers  though  defiled  by  crime 
In  deepest  gloom,  and  through  its  formless  range 

No  gleams  of  help  appear. 
O'er-vaunted  glory  is  a  perilous  thing ; 
For-  on  it  Zeus,  whose  glance  fills  all  with  fear, 

20Z 


AGAMEMNON 

His  thunderbolts  doth  fling. 

That  fortune  fair  I  praise 
That  rouseth  not  the  Gods  to  jealousy. 
May  I  ne'er  tread  the  devastator's  ways. 

Nor  as  a  prisoner  see 
My  life  wear  out  in  drear  captivity ! 

Epode 

And  now  at  bidding  of  the  courier-flame, 

Herald  of  great  good  news, 
A  murmur  swift  through  all  the  city  came  ; 
Bnt  whether  it  with  truth  its  course  pursues, 
Who  knows  ?  or  whether  God  who  dwells  on  high, 

With  it  hath  sent  a  lie  ? 
Who  is  so  childish,  or  of  sense  bereft, 

As  first  to  feel  the  glow 
That  message  of  the  herald  fire  has  left, 

And  then  to  sink  down  low. 
Because  the  rumour  changes  in  its  sound  ? 

It  is  a  woman's  mood 
To  accept  a  boon  before  the  truth  is  found : 
Too  quickly  she  believes  in  tidings  good, 

And  so  the  line  exact 

That  marks  the  truth  of  fact 
Is  over-passed,  and  with  quick  doom  of  death 
A  rumour  spread  by  woman  perisheth. 

Verses  665-782 
Strophe  I 
Who  was  it  named  her  with  such  foresight  clear  I 

Could  it  be  Qne  of  might, 
In  strange  prevision  of  her  work  of  fear. 

Guiding  the  tongue  aright  ? 
Who  gave  that  war-wed,  strife-upstirring  one 
The  name  of  Helen,  ominous  of  ill  i 
203 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 

For  'twas  through  her  that  Hellas  was  undone, 

That  woes  from  Hell  men,  ships,  and  cities  fill. 
Out  from  the  curtains,  gorgeous  in  their  fold. 
Wafted  by  breeze  of  Zephyr,  earth's  strong  child, 

She  her  swift  way  doth  hold  ; 
And  hosts  of  mighty  men,  as  hunters  bold 

That  bear  the  spear  and  shield, 
Wait  on  the  track  of  those  who  steered  their  way 
Unseen  where  Simois  flows  by  leafy  field. 
Urged  by  a  strife  that  came  with  power  to  slay. 

Antistrophe  I 
And  so  the  wrath  which  doth  its  work  fulfil 

To  Ilion  brought,  well-named, 
A  marriage  marring  all,  avenging  still 

For  friendship  wronged  and  shamed, 
And  outrage  foul  on  Zeus,  of  host  and  guest 

The  guardian  God,  from  those  who  then  did  raise 
The  bridal  hymn  of  marriage-feast  unblest 

Which  called  the  bridegroom's  kin  to  shouts  of  praise. 
But  now  by  woe  oppressed 
Priam's  ancient  city  waileth  very  sore, 
And  calls  on  Paris  unto  dark  doom  wed. 

Suffering  yet  more  and  more 
For  all  the  blood  of  heroes  vainly  shed, 
And  bearing  through  the  long  protracted  years 
A  life  of  wailing  grief  and  bitter  tears. 

Strophe  II 
One  was  there  who  did  rear 
A  lion's  whelp  within  his  home  to  dwell, 

A  monster  waking  fear, 
Weaned  from  the  mother's  milk  it  loved  so  well : 

Then  in  life's  dawning  light. 
Loved  by  the  children,  petted  by  the  old. 
Oft  in  his  arms  clasped  tight, 
Z04 


AGAMEMNON 

As  one  an  infant  newly-born  would  hold, 

With  eye  that  gleamed  beneath  the  fondling  hand, 

And  fawning  as  at  hunger's  strong  command. 

Antistrophe  II 

But  soon  of  age  full  grown, 
It  showed  the  inbred  nature  of  its  sire. 

And  wrought  unasked,  alone, 
A  feast  to  be  that  fostering  nurture's  hire  ; 

Gorged  full  with  slaughtered  sheep, 
The  house  was  stained  with  blood  as  with  a  curse 

No  slaves  away  could  keep, 
A  murderous  mischief  waxing  worse  and  worse, 
Sent  as  from  God  a  priest  from  At^  fell. 
And  reared  within  the  man's  own  house  to  dwell. 

Strophe  III 

So  I  would  say  to  II ion  then  there  came 

Mood  as  of  calm  when  every  wind  is  still. 
The  gentle  pride  and  joy  of  noble  fame. 
The  eye's  soft  glance  that  all  the  soul  doth  thrill ; 

Love's  full-blown  flower  that  brings 

The  thorn  that  wounds  and  stings ; 

And  yet  she  turned  aside, 
And  of  the  marriage  feast  wrought  bitter  end. 
Coming  to  dwell  where  Priam's  sons  abide, 

111  sojourner,  ill  friend. 
Sent  by  great  Zeus,  the  God  of  host  and  guest, 
A  true  Erinnys,  by  all  wives  unblest. 

Antistrophe  III 

There  lives  a  saying  framed  of  ancient  days. 
And  in  men's  minds  imprinted  firm  and  fast. 

That  great  good  fortune  never  childless  stays, 
But  brings  forth  issue, — that  on  fame  at  last 
Z05 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 

There  rushes  on  apace 

Great  woe  for  all  the  race ; 

But  I,  apart,  alone, 
Hold  a  far  other  and  a  worthier  creed  : 
The  impious  act  is  by  ill  issue  known, 

Most  like  the  parent  deed  ; 
While  still  for  all  who  love  the  Truth  and  Right, 
Good  fortune  prospers,  fairer  and  more  bright. 

Strophe  IV 
But  wanton  Outrage  done  in  days  of  old 

Another  wanton  Outrage  still  doth  bear. 
And  mocks  at  human  woes  with  scorn  o'erbold, 
Or  soon  or  late  as  they  their  fortune  share. 
That  other  in  its  turn 
Begets  Satiety, 
And  lawless  Might  that  doth  all  hindrance  spurn, 

And  sacred  right  defy. 
Two  Ates  fell  within  their  dwelling-place, 
Like  to  their  parent  race. 

Antistrophe  IV 
Yet  Justice  still  shines  bright  in  dwellings  murk 

And  dim  with  smoke,  and  honours  calm  content ; 
But  gold-bespangled  homes,  where  guilt  doth  lurk, 
She  leaves  with  glance  in  horror  backward  bent, 
And  draws  with  reverent  fear 
To  places  holier  far, 
And  little  recks  the  praise  the  prosperous  hear. 

Whose  glories  tarnished  are  ; 
But  still  towards  its  destined  goal  she  brings 
The  whole  wide  course  of  things. 

Say  then,  sou  of  Atreus,  thou 
Who  com'st  as  Troia's  conqueror  now, 
206 


AGAMEMNON 

What  form  of  welcome  right  and  meet, 

What  homage  thy  approach  to  greet, 

Shall  I  now  use  in  measure  true, 

Nor  more  nor  less  than  that  is  due  ? 

Many  men  there  are,  I  wis. 

Who  in  seeming  place  their  bliss, 

Caring  less  for  that  which  is. 

If  one  suffers,  then  their  wail 

Loudly  doth  the  ear  assail ; 

Yet  have  they  nor  lot  nor  part 

In  the  grief  that  stirs  the  heart ; 

So  too  the  joyous  men  will  greet 

With  smileless  faces  counterfeit : 

But  shepherd  who  his  own  sheep  knows 

Will  scan  the  lips  that  fawn  and  gloze, 

Ready  still  to  praise  and  bless 

With  weak  and  watery  kindliness. 

Thou  when  thou  the  host  did'st  guide 

For  Helen — truth  I  will  not  hide — 

In  mine  eyes  had'st  features  grim. 

Such  as  unskilled  art  doth  limn, 

Not  guiding  well  the  helm  of  thought, 

And  giving  souls  with  grief  o'erwrought 

False  courage  from  fresh  victims  brought, 

But  with  nought  of  surface  zeal. 

Now  full  glad  of  heart  I  feel, 

And  hail  thy  acts  as  deeds  well  done: 

Thou  too  in  time  shalt  know  each  one, 

And  learn  who  wrongly,  who  aright 

In  house  or  city  dwells  in  might. 

Verses  947-1001 
Strophe  1 
Why  thus  continually 
Do  ever-haunting  phantoms  hover  nigh 
107 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 

My  hearth  that  bodeth  ill  ? 
Why  doth  the  prophet's  strain  unbidden  still, 

Unbought,  flow  on  and  on  ? 

Why  on  my  mind's  dear  throne 
Hath  faith  lost  all  her  former  power  to  fling 
That  terror  from  me  as  an  idle  thing  ? 
Yet  since  the  ropes  were  fastened  in  the  sand 

That  moored  the  ships  to  land, 
When  the  great  naval  host  to  Ilion  went. 
Time  hath  passed  on  to  feeble  age  and  spent. 

Antistrophe  I 

And  now  as  face  to  face, 
Myself  reporting  to  myself  I  trace 
Their  safe  return  ;  and  yet 
My  mind,  taught  by  itself,  cannot  forget 
Erinnys'  dolorous  cry, 
That  lyreless  melody, 
And  hath  no  strength  of  wonted  confidence. 
Not  vain  these  pulses  of  the  inward  sense, 
As  my  heart  beateth  in  its  wild  unrest. 

Within  true-boding  breast ; 
And  hoping  against  hope,  I  yet  will  pray 
My  fears  may  all  prove  false  and  pass  away. 

Strophe  II 

Of  high,  o'erflowing  health 
There  is  no  limit  found  that  satisfies ; 

For  soon  by  force  or  stealth, 
As  foe  'gainst  whom  but  one  poor  wall  doth  rise, 
Disease  upon  it  presses,  and  the  lot 
Of  fair  good  fortune  onward  moves  until 
It  strikes  on  unseen  reef  where  help  is  not. 

But  should  fear  move  their  will 

For  safety  of  their  freight, 

208 


AGAMEMNON 

With  measured  sling  a  part  they  sacrifice, 

And  so  avert  their  fate. 
Lest  the  whole  house  should  sink  no  more  to  rise, 

O'erwhelmed  with  misery ; 
Nor  does  the  good  ship  perish  utterly : 

So  too  abundant  gift, 
From  Zeus  in  double  plenty,  from  the  earth, 
Doth  the  worn  soul  from  anxious  care  uplift. 
And  turns  the  famished  wail  to  bounding  joy  and  mirth. 

Antistrophe  II 

But  blood  that  once  is  shed 
In  purple  stream  of  death  upon  the  ground, 

Who  then,  when  life  is  fled, 
A  charm  to  call  it  back  again  hath  found  ? 

Else  against  him  who  raised  the  dead  to  life 
Zeus  had  not  sternly  warred,  as  warning  given 
To  all  men ;  but  if  Fate  were  not  at  strife 

With  Fate  that  brings  from  Heaven 

Help  from  the  Gods,  my  heart, 
Out-stripping  speech,  had  given  thought  free  vent. 

But  now  in  gloom  apart 
It  sits  and  moans  in  sullen  discontent. 

And  hath  no  hope  that  e'er 
It  shall  an  issue  seasonably  fair 

From  out  the  tangled  skein 
Of  life's  strange  course  unravel  straight  and  clear. 
While  in  the  fever  of  continuing  pain 
Mjr  soul  doth  burden  sore  of  troublous  anguish  bear. 


X09 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

Verses  20-75 
Strophe  I 
Lo,  from  the  palace  door 
We  wend  our  way  to  pour 

Gifts  on  the  dead ; 
And  in  our  bitter  woe, 
Our  hands  with  many  a  blow 

Smite  breast  and  head. 
On  each  fair  cheek  the  nail 
Has  ploughed  full  many  a  trail. 
And  all  to  tatters  torn 
The  garments  we  have  worn  ; 
The  foldings  of  the  vest 
O'er  maiden's  swelling  breast 

Are  roughly  rent ; 
For  now  on  us  the  chance 
That  shuts  out  joy  and  dance 

Our  fete  hath  sent. 

Antistrophb  I 
A  spectral  vision  clear 
Thrills  every  hair  with  fear. 
In  haunted  sleep, 
Breathing  of  dire  distress, 
From  innermost  recess 
Its  watch  doth  keep. 
Breaking  with  cry  of  fright 
The  still  deep  hush  of  night : 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

All  through  the  queenly  bower 
Sharp  cry  was  heard  that  hour, 
And  they  to  whom  'twas  given 
To  read  decrees  of  Heaven, 

In  dream  o'ertrue. 
By  solemn  pledges  bound, 
Declared  that  underground 
The  dead  were  wrathful  found 

'Gainst  those  that  slew. 

Strophe  II 
And  so  the  godless  queen 
In  eager  haste  is  seen, — 
Sends  me  with  gifts  like  this, 
Full  graceless  grace,  I  wis, 
As  if  (O  mother  Earth, 
To  whom  we  owe  our  birth !) 

To  banish  dread. 
And  I  would  fain  delay 
This  prayer  of  mine  to  pray: 
What  ransom  can  men  pay 

For  blood  once  shed  ? 
Oh,  hearth  and  home  of  woe  I 
Oh,  utter  overthrow ! 
Foul  mists  brood  o'er  our  halls : 
No  ray  of  sunlight  falls ; 
Thick  darkness  from  the  tomb 
Of  heroes  makes  the  gloom 

Yet  more  intense. 

Antistrophb  II 
And  awe  that  once  we  knew, 
Strong,  mighty  to  subdue. 
Falling  on  every  ear. 
Thrilling  each  soul  with  fear, 
211 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 

Is  gone  far  hence. 
There  be  that  well  may  bow 
In  craven  terror  now, 
For  lo  !   Success  enthroned 
As  more  than  God  is  owned. 
But  Vengeance  will  not  fail 
Ere  long  to  turn  the  scale. 
On  some  her  strokes  alight, 
While  yet  their  day  is  bright ; 
Some,  as  in  twilight's  gloom, 
O'erflow  with  gathering  doom  ; 
Some  endless  night  doth  hold 
In  realm  of  darkness  old. 

Strophe  III 

And  for  the  blood  which  Earth, 
To  whom  it  owed  its  birth. 
Hath  drunk,  there  still  doth  wait 
A  stern  avenging  Fate  ; 
The  stain  of  blood  doth  stay, 
And  will  not  pass  away. 
And  nerves  are  thrilled  with  pain 
In  soul  that  sets  in  train 
The  plague  that  works  amain 
Its  evil  great. 

Antistrophe  III 

All  help  from  him  hath  fled 
Who  with  adulterous  tread 
Defiles  another's  bed. 
Though  many  streams  should  pour 
Their  waters  o'er  and  o'er. 
Those  waters  evermore 


THE  LIBATION-POURERS 

Are  poured  in  vain  ; 
They  cannot  cleanse  the  guilt 
Of  blood  that  once  is  spilt, 

Man's  hand  to  stain. 

Epodb 

But  since  to  me  by  Heaven 
The  exile's  life  is  given, 
(Yea,  far  from  home  I  know 
The  bond-slave's  cup  of  woe,) 
I  needs  must  yield  assent 
To  good  or  ill  intent. 
Accepting  their  commands 
Who  rule  with  sceptred  hands,— 
Yea,  I  must  hide  my  hate 
In  this  my  evil  fate. 
And  under  strong  control 
Keep  my  rebellious  soul  ; 
And  now  beneath  my  veil 
I  weep  my  woes'  full  tale  ; 
For  cares  that  vex  and  fret 
My  cheeks  with  tears  are  wet. 

Verses  576—639 
Strophe  I 

Many  dread  forms  of  woe  and  fear  the  Earth 

Doth  breed  ;  and  Ocean's  deep 
Is  full  of  foes  men  hate,  of  monstrous  birth  ; 
And  Air's  high  pathways  keep 
Their  flashing  meteors  ;  birds  that  wing  their  flight. 

And  things  on  earth  that  creep  ; 
And  one  might  tell  the  wrath  of  whirlwind's  might, 

When  tempests  wildly  sweep. 

»13 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 

Antistrophe  I 
But  who  can  tell  man's  purpose  overbold  ? 

Or  woman's,  prompt  to  dare  ? 
Or  the  strong  loves  that  men  in  bondage  holdj 

And  bring  woe  everywhere  ? 
Or  strange  conjunctions  of  the  hearth  and  home  ? 

But  still  the  palm  they  bear, 
The  loves  unloved  that  women  overcome, 

And  hold  dominion  there. 

Strophe  II 
And  one  whose  thoughts  are  not  o'erswift  of  wing. 

May  learn  and  ponder  well 
What  purpose  Thestios'  child  to  act  did  bring, 

Purpose  most  dire  and  fell. 
Her  burning  thought  who  did  her  own  child  slay. 

Kindling  the  torch  of  death 
That  with  her  child's  life  kept  its  equal  way, 
Since  coming  from  his  mother's  womb  he  cried, 
To  that  predestined  day  on  which  at  last  he  died. 

Antistrophe  II 
And  yet  another  must  I  in  my  song 

Devote  to  hate  and  scorn. 
The  murderess  Skylla,  who  to  deeds  of  wrong 

By  Minos'  gifts  was  borne, 
And  for  her  foes'  sake  slew  a  man  she  loved 

For  Cretan  chains  gold-wrought ; 
She  with  dog's  heart  the  deathless  lock  removed 
From  him,  in  deep  sleep  sunk ;  yet  Hermes'  power 
She  too  was  taught  at  last  at  her  appointed  hour. 

Strophe  III 
But  since  I  tell  my  tale  of  loathly  crime, 
And  of  ill-omened  marriage  out  of  time, 
Wedlock  our  house  abhors, 
114 


THE   LIBATION-POURERS 

The  schemes  and  plots  of  women  steeped  in  guile 
Against  a  warrior  chief,  a  chief  erewhile 

The  dread  of  foes  in  wars, 
The  foremost  place  I  give  to  altar-hearth 
Where  no  wrath  burns  and  woman  knows  the  worth 

Of  mood  from  daring  free. 

Antistrophe  III 

Yet  of  all  ills  the  Lemnian  first  may  stand, 
The  cry  of  loathing  rings  through  all  the  land, 

And  still  each  crime  of  dread 
A  man  will  liken  to  the  Lemnian  ill ; 
And  now  by  woe  that  comes  from  God's  stern  will 

The  race  is  gone  and  fled. 
Of  all  men  scorned,  for  no  man  looks  with  love 
On  deeds  that  to  the  high  Gods  hateful  prove ; 

Is  not  this  clear  to  see  ? 

Strophe  IV 

And  lo  !  the  sword  sharp-pointed  pierces  deep, 

E'en  to  the  heart,  the  sword  which  Vengeance  wields ; 
The  lawless  deed  will  not  neglected  sleep. 

When  men  tread  down  what  fear  of  high  heaven 
shields ; 

Antistrophe  IV 

But  still  the  block  of  Vengeance  firm  doth  stand. 

And  Fate,  as  swordsmith,  hammers  blow  on  blow ; 
And  then  with  thoughts  that  none  can  understand, 
Erinnys  comes  far  known,  though  working  slow. 
And  to  the  old  house  brings  the  youthful  heir. 
That  deeds  of  blood  wrought  out  of  olden  time 
May  the  due  judgment  bear 
For  each  polluting  crime. 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 

Verses  769-820 
Strophe  I 
Oh,  hear  me,  hear  my  prayer,  thou  mighty  Lord ! 

Sire  of  all  Gods  that  on  Olympos  dwell, 
Hear  Thou,  and  grant  my  longing  heart's  desire, 
That  those  who  wise  of  heart  would  fain  do  well 
May  see  each  prayer  for  right 
Fulfilled  in  holiest  might ; 
That  prayer,  O  Zeus,  I  pray. 

Strophe  II 
Do  Thou  protect  him,  yea,  O  Zeus,  and  bring 

Before  his  foes  on  yonder  secret  way ; 
For  if  thou  raise  him  high,  then  Thou,  O  king, 

Shalt  to  thy  heart's  content 
Receive  a  twofold,  threefold  recompence, 
For  that  thine  anger  bent 
Against  each  old  offence. 

Antistrophe  I 
Look  on  the  son  of  one  whom  Thou  did'st  love, 

Like  orphan  colt  fast  bound  to  car  of  woes ; 
Set  Thou  a  mark  that  may  as  limit  prove; 
Ah,  might  one  watch  his  footsteps  as  he  goes, 
In  measured  course  and  true. 
This  his  own  country  through  ! 

Strophe  III 
And  ye  who  in  our  home 
Stand  in  the  shrine  with  plenteous  wealth  full  stored, 
-    Hear,  O  ye  Gods,  and  come. 
Yea,  come  with  one  accord. 
Lead  him  on,  wash  away 
With  vengeance  new  the  blood  of  crime  of  old  ; 

Let  not  the  old  guilt  stay 
To  breed  fresh  offspring  where  our  home  we  hold. 
Z16 


THE   LIBATION-POURER5 

Mesode 

But  grant  him  good  success, 
O  Thou  who  dost  within  the  great  cave  dwell ! 
With  upward  glance  of  joy  our  chiefs  house  bless. 

And  that  he  too,  full  well. 
Freely  and  brightly  with  the  dear,  loved  eyes. 
May  look  from  out  the  veil  of  cloudy  skies. 

Antistrophe  III 

And  then  may  Maia's  son 
Assist  him,  as  is  meet,  in  this  his  task ! 

Through  Him  success  is  won. 

The  boon  that  now  we  ask  : 
And  many  secret  things  will  He  make  clear. 

If  that  should  be  His  will ; 
But  should  He  choose  the  truth  should  not  appear. 

Before  men's  eyes  He  still 
Brings  darkness  and  the  blackness  of  the  night, 
Nor  is  He  clearer  in  the  day's  full  light. 

Strophe  IV 

And  then  will  we  pour  forth 
All  that  our  house  contains  of  costliest  worth. 

Past  evil  to  redeem. 
And  through  the  city  we  will  raise  the  strain 
Shrill-voiced  of  women's  chant  yet  once  again. 

All  this  as  good  I  deem ; 
This,  this  my  gain  increaseth  more  and  more, 
And  far  from  those  I  love  is  sorrow's  bitter  stour. 

Antistrophe  II 
But  thou,  take  courage  when  the  time  is  come. 

The  time  to  act  indeed, 
And  when  she  calls  thee  "  child,"  do  thou  strike  home. 
And  let  thy  father's  name  for  vengeance  plead  ; 
Do  thy  dread  taskwork  to  the  uttermost. 
»I7 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 

Antistrophe  IV 

Let  Perseus*  heart  within  thy  bosom  dwell, 
For  thou  dost  work  for  each  dear  kindred  ghost. 
And  those  on  high,  a  bitter  boon  and  fell. 
Completing  there  within 
The  deed  of  blood  and  sin, 
And  utterly  destroying  him  whose  hand 
That  crime  of  murder  planned. 


218 


EUMENIDES 

Verses  297-374 

Come  then,  and  let  us  dance  in  solemn  strain ; 
It  is  our  will  to  chant  our  harsh  refrain, 

And  tell  how  this  our  band 
Works  among  men  the  tasks  we  take  in  hand. 
In  righteous  vengeance  find  we  full  delight ; 
On  him  who  putteth  forth  clean  hands  and  pure 

No  wrath  from  us  doth  light ; 
Unhurt  shall  he  through  all  his  life  endure ; 
But  whoso,  as  this  man,  hath  evil  wrought. 

And  hides  hands  stained  with  blood, 
On  him  we  come,  with  power  prevailing  fraught^ 

True  witnesses  and  good. 
For  those  whom  he  has  slain,  and  bent  to  win 
Full  forfeit-price  for  that  his  deed  of  sin. 

Strophe  I 
O  Mother,  Mother  Night ! 
Who  did'st  bear  me  a  penalty  and  curse 

To  those  who  see  and  those  who  see  not  light. 
Hear  thou ;  for  Leto's  son,  in  mood  perverse. 

Puts  me  to  foulest  shame. 
In  that  he  robs  me  of  my  trembling  prey, 

The  victim  whom  we  claim, 
That  we  his  mother's  blood  may  wash  away ; 

And  over  him  as  slain 
Sing  we  this  dolorous,  frenzied,  maddening  strain. 
The  song  that  we,  the  Erinnyes,  love  so  well, 
That  binds  the  soul  as  with  enchanter's  spell, 
219 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 

Without  one  note  from  out  the  sweet-voiced  lyre, 
Withering  the  strength  of  men  as  with  a  blast  of  fire. 

Antistrophe  1 
For  this  our  task  hath  Fate 
Spun  without  fail  to  last  for  ever  sure, 
That  we  on  man  weighed  down  with  deeds  of  hate 
Should  follow  till  the  earth  his  life  immure. 
Nor  when  he  dies  can  he 
Boast  of  being  truly  free  ; 
And  over  him  as  slain 
Sing  we  this  dolorous,  frenzied^  maddening  strain. 
The  song  that  we,  the  Erinnyes,  love  so  well. 
That  binds  the  soul  as  with  enchanter's  spell, 
Without  one  note  from  out  the  sweet-voiced  lyre, 
Withering  the  strength  of  men  as  with  a  blast  of  fire. 

Strophe  II 
Yea,  at  our  birth  this  lot  to  us  was  given, 
And  from  the  immortal  Ones  who  dwell  in  Heaven 

We  still  must  hold  aloof; 
None  sits  with  us  at  banquets  of  delight, 

Or  shares  a  common  roof. 
Nor  part  nor  lot  have  I  in  garments  white  ; 
My  choice  was  made  a  race  to  overthrow. 
When  murder,  home-reared,  lays  a  loved  one  low ; 
Strong  though  he  be,  upon  his  track  we  tread. 
And  drain  his  blood  till  all  his  strength  is  fled. 

Antistrophe  II 
Yea,  'tis  our  work  to  set  another  free 

From  tasks  like  this,  and  by  my  service  due 
To  give  the  Gods  their  perfect  liberty, 

Relieved  from  task  of  meting  judgment  true  ; 
For  this  our  tribe  from  out  his  fellowship 

Zeus  hath  cast  out  as  worthy  of  all  hate, 


EUMENIDES 

And  from  our  limbs  the  purple  blood-drops  drip ; 

So  with  a  mighty  leap  and  grievous  weight 

My  foot  I  bring  upon  my  quivering  prey, 
With  power  to  make  the  swift  and  strong  give  way. 

An  evil  and  intolerable  fate. 

Strophe  III 
And  all  the  glory  and  the  pride  of  men, 
Though  high  exalted  in  the  light  of  day, 
Wither  and  fade  away, 
Of  little  honour  then, 
When  in  the  darkness  of  the  grave  they  stay, 
By  our  attack  brought  low. 
The  loathed  dance  through  which  in  raiment  black 
we  go: 

Antistrophe  III 
And  through  the  ill  that  leaves  him  dazed  and  blind. 
He  still  is  all  unconscious  that  he  falls. 
So  thick  a  cloud  enthrals 
The  vision  of  his  mind  : 
And  Rumour  with  a  voice  of  wailing  calls. 

And  tells  of  gathering  gloom 
That  doth  the  ancient  halls  in  darkness  thick  entomb. 
Strophe  IV 
So  it  abideth  still ; 
Ready  and  prompt  are  we  to  work  our  will. 

The  dreaded  Ones  who  bring 
The  dire  remembrance  of  each  deed  of  ill. 

Whom  mortals  may  not  soothe  with  offering, 
Working  a  task  with  little  honour  fraught. 
Yea,  all  dishonoured,  task  the  Gods  detest. 
In  sunless  midnight  wrought, 
By  which  alike  are  pressed 
Those  who  yet  live,  and  those  who  lie  in  gloom  un  blest. 


RHYMED  CHORUSES 

Antistrophe  IV 
What  mortal  man  then  will  not  crouch  in  fear, 

As  he  my  work  shall  hear, 
The  task  to  me  by  destiny  from  Heaven 

As  from  the  high  Gods  given  ? 
Yea,  a  time-honoured  lot  is  mine  I  trow, 

No  shame  in  it  I  see, 
Though  deep  beneath  the  earth  my  station  be. 
In  gloom  that  never  feels  the  sunlight's  quickening  glow. 

Verses  468-537 
Strophe  I 
Now  is  there  utter  fall  and  overthrow. 

Which  new-made  laws  begin  ; 
If  he  who  struck  the  matricidal  blow, 

His  right — not  so,  his  utter  wrong  shall  win. 
This  baseness  will  the  minds  of  all  men  lead 

To  wanton,  reckless  thought. 
And  now  for  parents  waits  there  woe,  and  deed 
Of  parricidal  guilt  by  children  wrought. 

Antistrophe  I 
For  then  no  more  shall  wrath  from  this  our  band. 

The  Maenad  troop  that  watch  the  deeds  of  men, 
Come  for  these  crimes  ;  but  lo  !  on  either  hand 
I  will  let  slip  all  evil  fate,  and  then. 
Telling  his  neighbours'  grief. 
Shall  this  man  seek  from  that,  and  seek  in  vain. 

Remission  and  relief. 
Nor  is  there  any  certain  cure  for  pain. 
And  lo  !  the  wretched  man  all  fruitlessly 
For  grace  and  help  shall  cry. 

Strophe  II 
Henceforth  let  no  man  in  his  anguish  call, 
When  he  sore-smitten  by  ill-chance  shall  fall, 


EUMENIDES 

Uttering  with  groan  and  moan, 
■"O  mighty  Justice,  O  Erinnyes'  throne!" 
So  may  a  father  or  a  mother  wail, 
Struck  by  new  woe,  and  tell  their  sorrow's  tale  ; 

For  low  on  earth  doth  lie 
The  home  where  Justice  once  her  dwelling  had  on  high. 

Antistrophe  II 
Yea,  there  are  times  when  reverent  Awe  should  stay 

As  guardian  of  the  soul ; 
It  profits  much  to  learn  through  suffering 

The  bliss  of  self-control. 
Who  that  within  the  heart's  full  daylight  bears 

No  touch  of  holy  awe. 
Be  it  or  man  or  State  that  casts  out  fear, 
Will  still  own  reverence  for  the  might  of  law  I 

Strophe  III 
Nor  life  that  will  no  sovran  rule  obey. 
Nor  one  down-crushed  beneath  a  despot's  sway, 

Shalt  thou  approve ; 
God  still  gives  power  and  strength  for  victory 
To  all  that  in  the  golden  mean  doth  lie. 
All  else,  as  they  in  diverse  order  move. 

He  scans  with  watchful  eye. 
With  this  I  speak  a  word  in  harmony, 

That  of  irreverence,  still 

Outrage  is  offspring  ill, 

While  from  the  soul's  true  health 
Comes  the  much-loved,  much-prayed-forjoy  and  wealth. 

Antistrophe  III 
Yes,  this  I  bid  thee  know ; 
Bow  thou  before  the  altar  of  the  Right, 
And  let  no  wandering  glance 
That  looks  at  gain  askance 
"3 


RHYMED   CHORUSES 

Lead  thee  with  godless  foot  to  scorn  or  slight. 
Know  well  the  appointed  penalty  shall  come ; 
The  doom  remaineth  sure  and  will  at  last  strike  home. 
Wherefore  let  each  man  pay  the  reverence  due 

To  those  who  call  him  son  ; 
By  each  to  thronging  guests  let  honour  true 

In  loyal  faith  be  done. 

Strophe  IV 
But  one  who  with  no  pressure  of  constraint 
Of  his  free  will  draws  back  from  evil  taint, 

He  shall  not  be  unblest, 
Nor  ever  sink  by  utter  woe  oppressed. 

But  this  I  still  aver, 
That  he  whose  daring  leads  him  to  transgress. 
The  chaos  wild  of  evil  deeds  to  stir. 

In  sharp  and  sore  distress, 

Against  his  will  will  slacken  sail  ere  long. 
When,  as  his  timbers  crash  before  the  blast. 

He  feels  the  tempest  strong. 

Antistrophe  IV 
Then  in  the  midst  of  peril  he  at  last 
Shall  call  on  those  who  then  will  hear  him  not. 

Yea,  God  still  laughs  to  scorn 
The  man  by  evil  tide  of  passions  borne. 

Swayed  by  thoughts  wild  and  hot, 
When  he  beholdeth  one  whose  boast  was  high 
He  ne'er  should  know  it,  sunk  in  misery. 
And  all  unable  round  the  point  to  steer ; 

And  so  his  former  pride  of  prosperous  days 
He  wrecks  upon  the  reefs  of  Vengeance  drear, 
And  dies  with  none  to  weep  him  or  to  praise. 


Press  of  Isaac  Pitman   &■  Sons,  Bath,  England 
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